RWBY: Fractured Path, Fractured Heart
by Teninshigen
Summary: Currently Undergoing Rewrite
1. Chapter 1, Fork in the Road

_**Trees swayed in the mid-afternoon sunshine, a pleasant breeze running its fingers through blonde hair, tinted scarlet. The man knelt atop the hill, his hands resting on his blade's pommel. His shield lay beside him where it had fallen. The man's breathing was ragged, his body torn and battered. His armour was long gone, reduced to scrap. Gone too was his aura, expended almost to the last. Jaune Arc knelt alone, war torn and weary, gone far beyond the limits of humanity in his last stand.**_

 _ **He looked to the sky, his one good eye squinting in the light. Gathering his legs beneath him, he forced himself to his feet. His sword and shield came with him, Crocea Mors so caked in blood that even its splendour could no longer shine through. Jaune looked forward to the open fields he faced, to the untold number of corpses strewn in his wake. There had been more; but creatures of Grimm were anathema to this world, and it would not hold them past their time. One still stood; at the very centre, a great Beowolf, perhaps a pack leader.**_

 _ **Jaune began to walk; his steps were lurching at first, but as he moved they began to smooth out. Jaune ran; his body was failing him, his spirit was exhausted, his mind was almost gone...and so his heart sustained him, rage and pain and grief and everything he'd been holding onto thrown to the flames in one last act, the same inhuman power that had slain over a thousand Grimm that day. The massive Grimm ran too, its alien mind knowing only the urge to rend the human before it.**_

 _ **With a scream and a roar, the two came together. The exchange was brief, over in seconds. The Beowolf fell first, its head and right hand cleanly removed. Jaune remained standing for a few moments more; at the last, his face turned skyward, raised his hand as if to touch the sun, his blade glinting once through its scarlet shroud.**_

 _ **Then he fell.**_

* * *

 **The Night Before**

* * *

History had never been Jaune's strong suit. He understood the need to learn from the past, but unless it pertained to battle strategy it never seemed to stick with him. One thing was perfectly clear to him, however.

Today was always going to have a place in history.

Beacon was gone. Vale's shining light was extinguished, reduced to a Grimm infested nightmare. The city and surrounding area had been likewise occupied, as Grimm from all across the country gathered there, drawn by the monstrosity frozen atop the tower. Of course, that wasn't even the worst of it. Not to Jaune at least.

To Jaune only one thing really mattered. He'd lost Pyrrha.

As soon as her name came to mind, images flashed across Jaune's mind.

 _Pyrrha in the locker rooms of Beacon, when they first met. A kind smile and quiet confidence, a friend waiting to be made._

 _Hanging from a tree in the Emerald Forest, rescued twice in a row by the red-haired warrior with the beautiful smile who accepted him as a partner._

 _Later that day, when she had unlocked his aura, as they shared a kinship for a split second which changed the course of his life._

 _Hours of training, dancing with their weapons under the stars with nothing in the world but each other._

 _Pyrrha, kissing him, then forcibly evacuating him as she went to try and defend the school._

 _The scream from the tower's peak, the flash of white light which was seen from miles away, the sickening wrench in his chest as a part of him he didn't even know he needed was ripped away..._

Jaune pulled his knees up to his face, his back to a tree in the moonlight. He was just outside a staging area the Atlas military had set up just outside of Vale to be used as a rest point when their fleet was returning. Ren, Nora and several of his other classmates had been forced to drag him on to a transport as he tried to get back to Pyrrha, to save his friend who was so much more than just a friend...

Now he was here. Aimless. Purposeless. An empty shell.

Worthless.

Jaune's hands tightened. Worthless. No, not worthless. Pyrrha hadn't trained him to be worthless. She'd trained him to be a warrior, to become a Huntsman worthy of his family's legacy. She had taken a boy with nothing but ideals and a sword he couldn't use, and she had forged him into something new. He wasn't the same Jaune Arc who had snuck into Beacon using faked transcripts. He wasn't the same Jaune Arc who lost every sparring match he was in, who subjected himself to countless little humiliations because of blackmail.

He was the leader of team JNPR. He was a warrior, trained by Pyrrha Nikos. He was an _Arc,_ dammit!

No, he wasn't worthless. Pyrrha had done too much for him to think so little of himself. But the fact remained that he hadn't been good enough. Maybe...if he'd been faster, stronger, smarter...maybe. But no - he had just been Jaune Arc, and as always, that just wasn't enough. And this time, he hadn't paid the price.

Pyrrha had.

She had done everything for him, he realised now. She had sought him out as a partner, and unlocked his aura when no one else would have. She had followed him as a leader, when such an accomplished warrior had no business following an inept bumbler like him. She had trained him, given him the skills he needed to defend himself and others. There was no part of Jaune which he didn't owe to Pyrrha...

There was a debt to be paid here.

 _Some moments in time, when seen from the outside, resemble nothing more than a crossroads. There might be two roads or there might be uncountable options, but the concept remains the same. Free will, the characteristic which so defines humanity, makes it impossible to always predict what they'll do. So when Jaune made his decision, one road vanished...and one journey began._

The blonde figure stood. Crocea Mors flashed on his waist, even in the moonlight. It was so simple...every part of him had been forged by Pyrrha, from the ground up. He owed her his life...so what better way to repay his debt than to offer it back?

Eyes of blue frosted over, almost dimming as the scattered mind within swirled and condensed. Every thought, every feeling, every following action would be dedicated to one idea.

Avenge Pyrrha.

The not-quite-Jaune re-entered the staging area. A minute's search yielded a notepad and pen, which the blonde sat with for a minute. When his message was complete, he folded the paper and addressed it. Tucking the folded paper into a slumbering Nora's hand, the figure left the staging area once again.

As Jaune Arc's body left the station, eyes with no more life than a frozen tundra looked to the horizon. There was no Jaune left now - all there was now was his purpose. With nothing more than the armour on his back and the weapon at his hip, the blonde took off running towards Vale.

Towards Beacon.

* * *

 **An Hour Later**

* * *

Lie Ren returned from a long conversation with an Atlas military officer regarding his and Nora's evacuation. Due to their status as orphans, they were responsible for themselves, and Ren's mind was already spiralling with ideas he could propose to Jaune. He was, after all, the only one on their team with a fixed home outside of Beacon. Approaching the bench where he had left Nora, he found her sitting upright. Magnhild lay on the floor beside her.

She was shaking.

Ren moved to her side instantly, and noticed she was holding what was now a heavily crumpled piece of paper. Turning to see her face, he was shocked to see her crying. Nora hadn't cried like this in years – even with the destruction of Beacon she had been more angry than anything. He started to ask what was wrong, but Nora simply held the shaking paper towards the martial artist. He grasped it, and his eyes moved quickly over the writing. He began to shake too as he read.

" _Ren, I'm writing this because you and Nora have been such great team mates and friends over the time we have known each other, and to simply leave with no explanation would be far less than you deserve. So here's what I wanted to say._

 _I would be nothing without you and the others. In fact, I would most likely have been gone from Beacon long ago. But the training you gave me, and the support you showed me, carried me on. You were the pillars that kept me up. But I know now that Pyrrha was the one I needed most._

 _I can't live without her. I simply can't – not any more. She became a part of me, as much as my heart or my soul. With her gone, all that is left for me is to slowly wither. So, I will own the legacy her training has left with me. I'm returning to Beacon, to take revenge for myself and for her._

 _I probably won't be coming back._

 _Thank you for everything. Say goodbye to the others for me, will you? To Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang, and to Nora as well. I couldn't have asked for better friends or allies._

 _Live well._

 _Jaune Arc"_

Ren let the letter fall from his hand as he spun around, racing for the nearest Atlas soldier. Despite his explanation and his urgency, the Atlas military couldn't set off after Jaune at night – the risk of moving personnel in under these conditions was too high for a single life.

Nora at his side, the martial artist burst out of the staging area. A moment's orientation and the partners were facing toward Beacon, immediately breaking into a run as they raced to save their friend. Ren and Nora took the same route Jaune had, setting off with the moon at its zenith. Stormflower and Magnhild were at the ready, both running figures instant death for any Grimm they encountered.

It would take a lot more than the forces of darkness to stop them.

* * *

The pair arrived at Beacon hours later, unable to match the self-destructive lengths to which the blonde was driving his body. The sun had risen as they moved, and they could see the crouching man atop a nearby hill. They drove themselves harder, even as the familiar figure moved to its feet. It began to run with jerky movements, Ren reaching for new speed that simply wasn't there.

He crested the hill just in time to see his leader and the massive Beowolf collide, to see the flawless cut that he delivered. He kept moving over the hill's peak, moving toward Jaune who stood with his hand stretched to the sky. As the blonde slowly began to topple, Ren reached out his own hand, trying vainly to cover the distance between himself and his friend as he fell.

"Jaune!"

A quiet thump, somehow audible over even Ren's heartbeat and the sounds of his running feet, echoed through his being.

And then there was silence.

And then there was darkness.

And then there was falling.


	2. Chapter 2, Faith

Remnant played home to a great many airborne species, songbirds, raptors and owls among their number, if one chose to discount the Nevermores, Gryphons and other flying Grimm, as many did when discussing ornithology. But no matter the presence of a soul, these creatures were graceful masters of their element, soaring on the wind like spirits of the sky, a beauty to behold from the earth-bound.

On the other hand, humanity, when they find themselves in such a situation as to enter that domain, are more akin to watching a car crash in slow motion. Jaune Arc was no exception, and it was to his credit that even with a gale force wind forcing its way into his lungs, he still managed to scream as he plummeted through the dark.

The scream persisted, despite Jaune's deceleration, and only petered out when he finally came to rest on a solid surface, suffering nothing worse than a slight bump. Jaune just lay there for a moment, breathing heavily, trying to get his head back in working order.

His hands soon quested to their limit, as he tried to determine if he was on a platform of some kind. When he failed to discover a void of any sort, however, he relaxed, and managed to get to his feet. His hands went to his hips as he spun around. It was disconcerting though, as the only evidence of his movement were his own senses; the world around him was empty to a degree unmatched by even the night skies over Beacon...

Jaune's brain ground to a halt. Recent memories, displaced by the terror of freefall, flooded back to him. Scattered thoughts came together to paint a picture of what had happened after his resolution under the moonlight. His mind had been adrift in a roiling ocean of rage and pain, and he had sought relief and vengeance in equal measure as he ran to Beacon, searching for an end to either himself or the Grimm. He remembered snapshots of the battle, but most of it was a red haze of effort and pain. Speaking of which...

A moment's thought made Jaune cognisant of two facts. Firstly, despite the vacuous nature of the world around him, he could see himself; his armour, clothing and flesh were all perfectly visible, even Crocea Mors were sheathed at his side. A quick inspection revealed the disturbing lack of any shadows, however; even when he pulled open his sleeve to look within, his entire arm was lit as if under a lamp. That was...unnatural in the extreme. Jaune shuddered as he let his arm drop.

Secondly, every injury he'd sustained in the course of the battle had vanished. A thought occurred to him, and he pulled his hoodie aside to check on his right shoulder. The scar which had been inflicted in a childhood injury was gone, as well. That was just as strange as the lack of shadows.

Jaune knew that no healing power of that magnitude existed in remnant, not in aura, magic or science. Ruling out those possibilities allowed the penny to drop in Jaune's mind. That kind of healing was impossible...so that meant it wasn't his body he was looking at. His heart sank as the fact sank in. He was dead. He'd managed to accomplish both the goals he'd set out of himself, he congratulated himself bitterly.

He'd managed to get himself killed, and now he was in the afterlife. He looked around at the nothing again. Maybe he'd been sent straight to Hell for basically killing himself? The priest in his home town had said something about that once...he thought.

As Jaune wrestled with the possibility of having his second emotional breakdown in as many hours, he became aware of a sensation not coming from his own body. He stopped moving, and it registered that he was hearing something. It was a soft noise, repeating regularly and growing slowly louder. Footsteps. Jaune turned to face where he though they were coming from, straining his eyes to try and make something out against the void. He didn't have to wait long, as a figure moved into view after only moments. Jaune examined it as it approached.

It was a young man with dark hair, hanging low over his forehead and framing features that reminded Jaune heavily of his friend Ren, with slanted eyes and an interesting facial structure. He stood effectively level with Jaune, sporting a build which spoke of exercise in pursuit of health instead of training. He was dressed simply in a jacket and jeans only shades lighter than the surroundings, but his clothing was much less interesting than his eyes. They seemed to shift in colour as Jaune watched, cycling back and forth along the rainbow, occasionally flashing silver or something darker, a whirlpool of colour around the black points of his pupils.

If the young man took offence at Jaune's staring, he certainly didn't show it. Instead he smiled, nodding to Jaune. "Ah, Jaune. Greetings! I do apologise for the wait, but I felt it appropriate to give you a little time to acclimatise and calm down. I know you have questions; but before you begin, would you like a seat?"

The man gestured over Jaune's shoulder, and a quick glance told the blonde warrior that what had definitely been empty space earlier was now host to a circular wooden table with two accompanying, high-back chairs. A cursory tap revealed that they were in fact real, and Jaune wasn't sure if that was creepier than the omnipresent luminescence he'd been experiencing.

Nonetheless, with basically no other useful options, Jaune took a seat. His mysterious company made himself at home in the other available space, both placed on the same side of the circle, rather than across it. It felt far friendlier to Jaune, who watched as the young man folded his right leg over his left and rested his hands in his lap, leaning back somewhat in his chair. "Ah. Much better. Now then Jaune, you can feel free to ask away."

Jaune decided to go straight to the big issues. "Where am I?" he asked, trying to be polite. He was in completely unknown waters, and the last thing he needed to do was come across as rude. The figure rubbed his chin as he considered.

"Hm. Well, I could offer you the so-called 'technical' explanation, but I doubt that would be of any use. So, let's say that you are in a place which didn't exist before you arrived, and won't exist after you're gone. Let's call it... Headcanon, shall we?" He seemed to smile to himself, as if pleased by a private joke. Jaune didn't get it, but he decided to accept the answer.

"All right. Why am I here?" The man nodded sagely.

"A good question; instead of choosing to put forward any assumptions of your situation you may have, which could be considered rude or otherwise negatively impact my view of you, you choose an option which is both tactful and likely to gain the most useful information. Very nice."

Jaune blinked; yes, he'd made some consideration in that direction, but having someone praise him for how he phrased his questions was a new experience. "Uh...thanks, I guess."

A waved hand dismissed the thanks. "Nothing at all, Jaune, nothing at all. Now then...you're here because, depending on your viewpoint, you have been either blessed...or cursed."

Jaune sighed. Of course it had to be something he had no control over. His life had been one long domino effect of circumstance and chaotic machinations; why should his death be any different? The man was continuing, however. "There is something special about you, Jaune; an aspect to your being that no human has ever carried before, and likely never will again. It is a great power, and it is because of that power that I was able to bring you here, to stop you from passing on...for a time, at least." His gaze met Jaune's. "And yes, I'm sorry to say that means what it sounds like."

To most people, being told they were dead would result in an emotional outburst far in excess of almost any other. However, Jaune was (to some degree at least) a Huntsman, and he'd already been prepared for the worst. He just took a deep breath and got over it, his mind still focussed on learning more about his situation. The way this man spoke made him think there was a choice coming in the conversation, and he needed to make an informed decision.

"Anyway," continued the man, "this part of you puts you in a unique position when it comes to...this particular state of affairs. In fact, it gives you a choice." Jaune leaned forward, as the young man before him seemed to age an eternity, and though his appearance didn't change something about him radiated time and wisdom. He sat forward to, clasping his hands together. "Jaune, I'll be straight with you: You have a chance to try again. To go back to the time when you became a part of the events that unfolded so unfavourably for you. I can let you return to when you first arrived at Beacon Academy."

Jaune stared for a long moment. It was the worst joke in the world. It was the greatest possibility he could have been offered. But he didn't doubt even for a moment that this man was telling the truth. He wasn't really a man; that was certain. He was something else entirely. And he was offering Jaune a second chance. He didn't need to hear the figure before him say it to know that his other option was to go on to whatever awaited in the next life...but his choice was made as soon as it registered that he had the chance.

"I'll go back. No matter the condition, no matter the price, I'll go back." The figure nodded to him – Jaune couldn't reconcile the world 'man' with whatever occupied the seat in front of him, not after that display.

"Alright Jaune. Here's the deal: you'll return to when you were first going to Beacon, from the moment you boarded the transport. That was the point of no return, and so placing you there is easiest. Your memories will be fully intact, but your body will be as it was at the time. The physical training you underwent will have to be undergone once more. You will also have a role to play; I will need you to carry out certain tasks for me that I cannot do myself. Working together, I believe we have a chance to do things right this time around. Now, you're absolutely sure?"

Jaune didn't have to answer. His mind had finally put all the pieces together, and he knew who and what he was sitting before. He knew Jaune's every thought – but like any Arc, Jaune's heart was on his sleeve and in his eyes. You didn't have to be a god to understand that look. The deity smiled as he stood, and Jaune followed.

"I would wish you luck, Jaune Arc – but I have faith that your mind will be more than enough." Jaune bowed his head in acknowledgement of the praise.

"I'll make sure it is, Oum."

"Oh please, Jaune." smiled Remnant's creator, maintainer and protector. "Call me Monty."

And with that, Jaune was falling again, the darkness fading to white as he practically felt himself becoming solid again, as the wind plucked at him. He closed his eyes, revelling in the sensation. He'd been stumbling and falling all his life, crawling on hands and knees to make his way in the world.

This time, he'd land on his feet.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Hey guys. I just wanted to thank you all for choosing to read this story, it feels good to know that I can make something people enjoy.**

 **It's at this point that I'd bet most people will decide whether or not to stay with this story; after all, time travel is a plot device that can be horribly misused. With this in mind, after beginning to read the story "The Alternate Path" by Gravenimage here on the site, I just had to give it a shot. So, thanks to him for inspiring me to do this, and thanks also to my friend ZenakuOkami for being my sounding board, having watched as much RWBY as I have and being a fellow writer.**

 **If you have an idea you think would make the story better, or have some criticism, please make it know – I'd love to hear it. (P.S. Currently I'm going to be going with Arkos as far as shipping is concerned, and I'm only going to take it so far – I don't/can't/won't (delete as appropriate) write smut, so just a heads-up. If anyone has some interesting ideas, or has a ship they'd like to see on the sidelines, then don't hesitate to let me know – I'm always happy for new ideas.)**


	3. Chapter 3, Spring Roses

_The theologians of Remnant have it easier than those of other worlds. There was only one truly established religion, and though it had different names depending on the kingdom you hailed from, they all recognised the same god; Monty Oum. Said to have been the first thing to appear in the universe, the oldest texts and stories told that he had created Remnant from nothingness, and given life to all its creatures. Some theories even insinuated that the Grimm were also his creation, but those were largely rejected. After all, the Grimm were soulless abominations – no true god would unleash them on a world of their making._

 _Of course, there were debated issues – such as the afterlife. No two theologians or ministers could truly agree on the nature of the soul, and what happened to it after death. However, there was one idea that was always rejected: reincarnation. The idea of a soul returning to Remnant after death was scoffed at as an upset of the natural order, the kind of event which could tear apart the balance of life and death._

 _And what kind of god would ever do that?_

 _The answer was simple. A bored one._

* * *

Jaune Arc opened his eyes.

He was staring up at the gangplank for the massive transport which was carrying students to Beacon. His right foot was just on the walkway, his right hand holding the banister. He turned around, and was faced with his mother, father and younger sister. Melinda, his sister, was waving and laughing. His mother Jetta was standing tall, but he could see tears in her eyes as she waved too.

His father, Cornelius, was another matter. All the acknowledgment he gave was a curt nod, and Jaune knew he'd get no more than that. It was the former huntsman's way of saying "You're on your own from here." His family had been against his trying out for Beacon, becoming a Huntsman - his father didn't talk about his reasons, but he had hung up his weapon long ago, and had made his view of Jaune's dreams clear from the beginning. He waved back, the action instinctive. In all that had happened, he'd never even considered the effects his death would have had on his family.

 _You truly know nothing, Jaune Arc._ He chastised himself as he turned back to the walkway and pulled himself up and into the belly of the ship.

Looking around, he recognised many of the faces. People who he might not have interacted much with, but with whom he had shared the halls of Beacon. Some he knew better than others, but he was looking for two faces in particular. He found one of them quickly; a figure noticeably shorter than many of the others, black and scarlet defining her clothing and hair. Silver eyes glinted in the window's sunlight, and Jaune thanked Oum that it was this time he got to restart from, so close to those he knew would be friends.

Restart. That was actually what he was doing, wasn't he? The past year wiped completely clean...every failure could be rectified, every disaster could be averted. Jaune shook his head as his reason kicked in. No, that wasn't true. He had to try and keep as much to the previous time line as his goal allowed. Maybe Oum knew, but Jaune couldn't predict how much fiddling with events could change the future for the worse.

As he slowly played over some worst-case scenarios in his mind, he felt a familiar shudder as the airship began to move around him. He staggered slightly, and felt a familiar discontent in his stomach. He forced it down, relying on the breathing exercises and balancing tricks that Pyrrha had made a part of his training. Pyrrha...she was alive, in this time. He'd see her again in mere hours... But it wouldn't be the Pyrrha who had kissed him goodbye before going to her death. This Pyrrha didn't even know of Jaune Arc...and to have the same relationship as he'd once had, this Jaune Arc needed not to know of Pyrrha Nikos.

In fact, he'd have to try and remember his early days at Beacon as well as possible, in order to start things off on the right foot with those around him. He needed to increase in power massively by next year yes, but he also needed to spur the others to greater heights. Paradoxically, if he was assured that they could handle themselves, he would be in a better position to protect them. He sank deep in thought as he replayed his early days at school over and over, recalling all the good times he'd had with teams JNPR and RWBY.

Jaune was shocked from his reverie by a joyous exclamation from behind him, and he turned just in time to feel the back draft from a blonde juggernaut racing by to embrace her little sister. Yang Xiao Long; whole once more, in every way. Jaune's hands clenched into fists. Adam Taurus...something else to consider alongside Torchwick. And the dust user who had been behind the whole thing, of course. Three major criminals with ties to each other, and he had to try and thwart all their plans at once. He almost asked "Why me?"...but of course he'd volunteered. Because no matter how impossible the struggle, the reward was too great to fail.

His stomach mostly under control, Jaune considered approaching Ruby and Yang now, to befriend them earlier...but then he remembered the circumstances of Ruby meeting Weiss. If he approached the sisters and they were friendly with him, then when Yang left Ruby alone she would simply fall into walking with Jaune, which could very well ruin her first encounter with the Schnee heiress. No, better to let them be...and simply not vomit on Yang's shoe this time.

* * *

Jaune watched from across the courtyard as Blake and Weiss went their separate ways, leaving a confused and weary Ruby lying next to a dust-inflicted crater. He smiled to himself, knowing that he'd just witnessed the first step on a long journey for those three. He walked towards Ruby, until his shadow notified her of his presence. He offered a hand for her. "Hey there. I'm Jaune."

She glanced at his hand for a moment, then accepted it. "Ruby." she replied, and he pulled the lighter girl to her feet, remembering just in time to brace himself for the extra weight of Crescent Rose at her back.

He released her hand once she was standing on her own, and then a thought flashed across his mind. When he'd first met Ruby, they'd gone wandering around the Beacon grounds as Jaune justified his travel sickness. He hadn't exhibited that this time, so the conversation topic was gone. Options flowed into Jaune's head, and he recalled a later part of that same conversation, immediately pulling on it. "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, is that your weapon?" he asked, gesturing to the familiar folded implement attached to Ruby's belt. As he'd hoped, her eyes lit up, her weapon mania brought to the fore and dispelling whatever shyness had been evident.

"Yeah, this is my baby, Crescent Rose." She drew it as she spoke, and it unfolded to its scythe form in moments. Jaune beheld the weapon with genuine awe; even after seeing it for a year, the dangerous beauty the weapon possessed always struck a chord with him.

"Oh, that's just awesome!" he exclaimed, as the sun glinted off the weapon's blade, as if it were winking at him.

"Oh, isn't she just? And she's not just a scythe; she's also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle." Jaune nodded as she spoke, increasing the amount of 'awe' his expression and face were carrying.

"Now that's just unfairly cool. I mean, I'm feeling a little overshadowed." He rubbed the back of his head as he spoke.

"Oh come on, I'm sure your weapon is awesome as well!" Ruby encouraged him, leaning forward a bit at the prospect of finding a new piece to examine. Jaune took a step back, freeing up space to draw Crocea Mors.

"Well, I like to think so – they belong to my family; heirlooms from the Great War." As he spoke he let the scabbard spring into its shield form, sliding it onto his arm with a practised grace that he had lacked during the first iteration of this meeting. The blade caught the light, its honed edge almost seeming to cut the sun's rays. It was true that Jaune had considered his weapons somewhat lacking compared to others he'd seen, but now, he wouldn't trade them for anything else. He noted that they seemed to weigh more than he remembered...before he recalled the conditions of the deal he'd accepted. His body hadn't yet undergone the training of Pyrrha and Beacon; he was far weaker than he had been...at the end.

Ruby let out a low "Oooh" as she examined the blade, running her hand across the shield.

"Unfortunately, it's not also a gun." Jaune grinned, getting a smile in return from the young girl in scarlet.

"Guns are cool, but every weapon is brilliant in its own way." she told him seriously. "Of course, if you ever want to try and expand on the classics, so to speak, I have a few ideas that you might find interesting." Jaune sensed his opportunity, so he sheathed Crocea Mors in a fluid gesture which returned the blade to the shield and the reformed sheath to his belt.

He bowed from the waist, sweeping his left arm across his stomach to extend to his right. "I would be honoured to learn from you, oh wise weapon meister." he replied, and so Jaune felt, as he walked alongside the giggling Ruby, that so far, things were going well.

"Hey, Jaune?" Ruby spoke, after they'd been walking for a while, Ruby bouncing ideas off Jaune that could be applied to Crocea Mors to increase its effectiveness.

"Yeah Ruby?" Jaune replied, still wondering about Ruby's idea to place a high-power shotgun assembly in his sword's hilt, to provide extra power to a strike or even to serve as a ranged alternative.

"Where are we going?"

As Jaune spun on his heel and realised that they'd wandered a goodly ways from the hall where Ozpin made his first address, and also that his conversation had carried on longer than his first, it occurred to him that even after dying inside and outside, having a chance at love and leading a team of Huntsmen and Huntresses in training, there was apparently still some of that idealistic idiot with forged transcripts and a family heirloom left in him. He gestured at Ruby to follow and took off for the hall, not at all worried about her being able to keep up.

He'd missed this.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Two chapters written and uploaded in the same day; not sure about the wisdom there, but I'm enjoying writing this, so wisdom can go and have a nice cup of tea while I'm busy doing...whatever it is I'm doing.**

 **Thank you, anyone who's reading this, for sticking with it; as I mentioned in the header for the story, I'm going to be retracing Jaune's steps through the Canon, however as time goes on things will begin to diverge more and more, in particular because I've already worked things like Jaune's semblance and certain aspects of Cinder's character into the plan for this story, so no matter what happens (bear in mind, I'm writing this in the late spring of 2016, so Volume 4 hasn't yet been released) in the Canon, some things will be of my own creation.**

 **I hope I can at least entertain you guys enough to make this worth the read.**

 **Well, leave any criticism or ideas in a review, and enjoy your day.**


	4. Chapter 4, Looking Forward

Jaune and Ruby entered the hall together, thankfully not much later than he remembered being; it helped that he'd known where he was going this time. Jaune looked around, feeling the rough edges of his psyche smoothing under the reassuring environment of Beacon in its prime. The familiar faces in the crowd caught his eye for moments at a time, but he dared not initiate contact yet; Jaune Arc was a socially inept bumbler at the moment, so he had to keep himself distant from everyone else to try and keep his relationships with them the same.

Ruby was scanning the crowd as well, and upon finding her sister, she promised to catch up later as she ran off to stand with the beckoning Yang. Jaune himself noted that Ozpin and Goodwitch hadn't yet taken the stage, as he moved to a spot roughly level with Ruby and Yang on the other side of the hall. Turning to face the stage, he caught a glimpse of flaming red in the corner of his left eye.

He froze instantly; the colour remained, just out of his line of sight, and he knew exactly who it belonged to. That shade was burned into his mind and heart. He forced himself to stay looking forward; as one of the last to arrive, he'd attracted attention with his entrance, and if he met her eyes, he'd do something silly.

So, Jaune clenched his fists to restrain his emotions as he kept his eyes fixed on the stage, waiting for the headmaster to appear. Raised voices to his right caught his attention, and he turned to see Weiss, Ruby and Yang, the Schnee heiress lecturing her future leader with the aid of a Schnee Dust brochure, and the younger girl trying to mend the situation. At one point, Weiss gestured over her shoulder at him, and he sighed as he caught her "tall, blonde and scraggly" comment. He waved over to the trio as their attention moved to him for a moment, then returned to facing the stage.

The headmaster made his appearance moments later, climbing onto the stage with Goodwitch. The sight of the headmaster was another soothing one, as Jaune recalled the despair he'd felt when the dust user in red had flown up the tower, knowing Ozpin had fallen. Jaune internally rejoiced at the man's presence, as he delivered the exact same speech he remembered.

With his dismissal, it popped into his mind that he had started hitting on Weiss about now. He couldn't really bring himself to do that this time around; in hindsight, it had never done anything positive for either of them. In fact, all it had really done was give Pyrrha a hard time, watching him chase another girl.

Jaune thought about considering the consequences of this action, then shook his head and made the call. He did wander over to the trio though; this was when he had first met Yang and Weiss after all. "Hey again Ruby!" he called as he approached, catching their attention. Ruby didn't seem to know whether she should be confused over the headmaster's speech, irritated with Weiss, or happy to see Jaune, and the effect was a rather awkward smile that seemed almost as spacey as Ozpin.

He almost called the other two girls by name, but caught himself just in time. He hadn't been introduced yet. "Nice to meet you two; I'm tall, blonde and scraggly. Or Jaune, if you prefer." He offered his hand to Yang first, who shook it with a grin, though Weiss chose to simply ignore the proffered appendage, apparently unrepentant as far as her description of him went.

Ruby shook herself as she registered that her first friend at Beacon and her sister were interacting, and she should probably say something. "Oh, Jaune, this is my sister, Yang." She appeared to consider something for a moment, then looked over at the girl in white on her other side. "And this is Weiss." Jaune nodded to both of them in turn; he was fairly sure that if he could have seen Weiss' soul, it would have been turning its nose up at him.

"Nice to meet you, Yang." replied Jaune, giving the blonde the friendliest smile he could muster.

"Likewise, Jaune. You already know Ruby?" Jaune nodded, glancing at Ruby for any indications on how he should proceed. From her face, there wasn't any issue with continuing, so he answered truthfully. "Yeah. We met shortly after she exploded. Your...I'm going to say younger..." here he looked for confirmation, and he continued at Yang's nod, "sister has some really impressive weapon knowledge. I might have to borrow her for help improving my own kit sometime."

Yang sighed as she turned to her sister. "A tall blonde in armour with a sword decides to spend some time with you, and you talk about weapons." Ruby responded with a nervous giggle, rubbing the back of her head as she did.

The blonde brawler shook her head, turning back to Jaune. "Well, at least she actually managed to speak to someone without exploding. I'm glad she's found a friend...just don't be getting too friendly there, mister knight in shining armour." Jaune raised his hands in acquiescence and took a step back.

"On my honour m'lady." he replied, repeating his overblown bow from when he met Ruby, trying to stuff as much pomp into his voice as he could. Both sisters smiled at the display, but the Schnee heiress, still in close proximity, seemed unimpressed.

"Well, since you three seem positively made for one another, I'll be going. I would greatly appreciate it if you would try and display even a little of the dignity and grace that you mock so openly, 'mister knight'." said Weiss, sarcasm dripping from her words like venom. She spun on her heel and walked away in the direction of the locker room, which was still fairly full of students storing their weapons. A teaching aide was standing by the door, handing out sheets of paper to each student who passed her.

Jaune watched the heiress move away with a low sigh, and was about to turn back to the sisters when he froze.

There she was.

Only partway across the courtyard separating the communal locker room from the hall, Pyrrha Nikos had her back turned to Jaune...but he would have known her even if she stood miles away. He realised he'd actually taken a step toward her, and he forced his emotions down as hard as he could. He couldn't speak to her; not yet. That came tomorrow. But it was hard; Jaune had never been one for deceit or lies, instead wearing his heart openly. It was difficult, perhaps just as difficult as watching her go to her death, for her to be so close and him to be so restrained by circumstance.

Jaune gritted his teeth, and looked for anything to distract him. The sisters seemed to have taken his step forward as a cue to go and store their weapons, so he ran the few steps to catch up with them. Yang showed off Ember Celica, though she stopped short of actually firing them, and Jaune praised her choice in fighting style as he demonstrated Crocea Mors once again. That took long enough to have them reach the teaching aide just as Jaune had re-sheathed his weapon.

He took the paper he was offered with a smile, and moved inside. Flicking the document open, he found a locker number and combination. He smiled to himself; locker 636. He almost questioned just how he'd received the same locker number as he had before, despite the fact that he was almost certain more time had passed in his conversation with the sisters than in his...hmm. That was a point. Did the time line he came from count as a past life? He'd only gone back about a year after all. Maybe he'd just consider them previous experiences and leave it at that.

It was a failing even of great minds that any train of thought, no matter how important, can be derailed by the most mundane of things – and Jaune was no exception, as he completely forgot about how impossible it would seem to be that he ended up with locker 636 again.

It probably wasn't that important, anyway.

* * *

Jaune found himself wandering around the Beacon grounds with Yang and Ruby as they explored, taking comfort in seeing Beacon restored to its former glory. Even though he was remembering the spots they came across rather than discovering them, he felt just as happy as they wandered, until a tolling bell signalled dinner. He led the two girls to the dinner hall, explaining away his ability to find the building as having asked for directions to it earlier.

The sisters seemed to accept his excuse, and the three sat together at dinner, watching the academy students as they moved between tables, all of them noticeably more graceful than the new arrivals. The new students' varied outfits were a splash of colour clustered together at the end of the table furthest from the room's centre, in direct contrast to the dark and ordered colours of the seniors' uniforms. The food was just as great a contrast; trays could be filled from a long serving area which served as a front of the kitchen, dishes ranging from fruits and salads to sandwich components and heavy meats.

The three ate their way through hearty meals, discussing possibilities for what the following day could bring and what their fellow classmates' skills and weapons could be. Jaune let himself go with the flow, offering ideas of his own, growing more outlandish as time went by. They all admitted they might be taking it a bit far when Yang suggested that they were going to be blasted into space in order to fight space-Grimm, and since they were done eating anyway, they unanimously decided to head to bed.

Jaune found that he had immensely enjoyed this evening; it felt good to return to the beginning again, to when things were simpler and more lighthearted. He knew it couldn't last, but his relatively fragile emotional state needed the rest and reassurance that it was getting at the moment. So he smiled to himself as he walked alongside Yang and Ruby, guiding them to the large room in the dorm building which housed the first years on their first night.

He found his bag waiting with his name on it in the entrance, Ruby and Yang locating theirs shortly afterwards. They walked into the large room as a group, but quickly went their separate ways as they headed to the gender-specific bathrooms.

Jaune was looking forward to a chance to get some rest and clear his head before the next day's events, and having showered and brushed his teeth, he delved into the main compartment of his bag in search of...pyjamas. Oh no. Oh, please Monty, no. Jaune groaned as he pulled out a pale blue Onesie with rabbit ears on the feet.

He'd somehow managed to erase this from his mind after buying new sleepwear in his first week of school... Jaune considered his options. He couldn't have long before someone wandered into this part of the bathroom, so he had to choose quickly. He weighed sleeping in the clothes he'd worn today against walking into a room of people who, to him at least, weren't really strangers, wearing this.

It wasn't a difficult choice; he stuffed the embarrassing clothing back into his bag, zipping it closed once it was concealed under various other garments. Returning to the sleeping room, he found spotted an unoccupied area on the side of the room which had been designated for male students, and he made his way toward it. He noticed Yang and Ruby lying beside each other across the room, Yang eyeing up the admittedly burly students to Jaune's right.

He grinned and waved back, flexing a depressingly small bicep with his other arm, his bag sliding a bit on his shoulder. He got a chuckle from the blonde, visible if not audible, and continued on to his chosen spot. His hoodie was already in the bag, and he placed his socks in his shoes as he unrolled the sleeping bag he remembered being required on the Beacon equipment list. He climbed into the sleeping bag, placing his bag at his head, and closed his eyes with a sigh.

He opened them again to raised voices, and he watched Ruby, Yang and Weiss arguing to each other in the light of Blake's candle until the flame vanished. As the girls returned to their own sleeping bags, Jaune stared at the ceiling, painted with moonlight and the silhouettes cast by the windows. He felt almost like he had when he first arrived at Beacon: ecstatic at getting in, nervous about the future, terrified of his faked credentials being discovered, excited about training. The reasons were different this time, of course; this time, a lot would be different.

Jaune had sworn himself to that, and no Arc ever went back on their word.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Hello, dear reader. 'Tis I, once again, with another chapter. This thing is just writing itself; my school closed due to a power failure, and it was a damn good thing, because I can't focus on my classes with all the different branching ideas that this story is constantly growing in my mind. I swear I'm getting enough material for my next two stories at the same time .**

 **Well, thank you for reading this far in; I'm still new to this, and any attention I receive is highly appreciated. Also thanks to Dragoon, who left me a review with some advice for the future of this story that I think will prove useful.**

 **I hope you enjoyed and continue to enjoy, even just a fraction as much as I enjoy writing this. Please leave any criticism, advice or even any comments you want to make as a review, and I'll make sure to read it. Enjoy your day!**


	5. Chapter 5, Falling with Style

Jaune was jolted awake the next morning by a voluminous, familiar voice. Nora Valkyrie was relatively nearby, cheerily waking up her long-time companion Lie Ren with a sing-song declaration of the time of day. It was familiar; in fact, it was their morning ritual. No one in team JNPR had ever dared to buy an alarm clock – Nora would probably have tried to compete with it, and she was effective enough as she was.

Jaune pulled himself out of sleep with the kind of mental discipline that a year of combat training will give you, though it didn't entirely dispel the fog. His dreams had been violent, almost painted in great strokes which obscured logical detail in favour of overpowering instinct. As a result, his rest hadn't been particularly rejuvenative... but it would have to do.

Today was the Emerald Forest, and Jaune knew that things were still very delicate. One wrong move on his part could lead to he and Pyrrha not being paired together, or to Ren, Nora, Pyrrha and him becoming team JNPR – the idea that Nora wouldn't find Ren and partner up with him never even occurred to Jaune. Time travel or not, if there was one thing he could count on to stay the same it was Nora.

By the time Jaune had finished his ablutions he was basically functional, and as he headed to the dining hall he encountered a slightly panicky Ruby, who had apparently discovered that Yang prioritized breakfast and morning coffee over waking her little sister. This was unfortunate because Ruby couldn't remember the way to dining hall herself, and so she'd been stressing out over missing breakfast. Jaune couldn't help but chuckle as he and Ruby made the trip, noticing that the younger girl paid far more attention to their route this time.

Yang had kept open seats beside her for both of them, and called them over once they had collected their breakfasts. Jaune had chosen a selection of light, slow-burning foods, remembering that it had been pure chance which saved him the embarrassment of losing his breakfast before landing in the Emerald Forest...well. Chance and the fact that he'd forgotten where the dining hall was. Apparently flight was better on an empty stomach, but he'd learned that in combat it could be a disadvantage, so fruits and carbohydrates it was.

Ruby and Yang had chosen somewhat less tactical options; Yang was demolishing a pile of bacon and eggs, while Ruby had procured an entire box of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes. Jaune couldn't help but laugh when he saw that, though he quickly had to apologize to a blushing Ruby, who apparently thought he was laughing at her admittedly childish choice in cereal. Breakfast was much quieter than dinner had been the night before; after all, there was a major event coming up in a couple of hours.

Game faces were coming out all along the table. Well, mostly. Weiss' controlled exterior wasn't giving any easy tells, though Jaune had come to know her well enough to make an informed guess along the lines of her bring more than a little anxious. Blake...well, he'd never got to know Blake that well, but her demure attitude was just as hard to read as Weiss'. He could hear Nora and, technically, Ren's wholly one-sided conversation regarding ways to ensure they were paired together, as the excitable female warrior suggested they bribe Ozpin. Terrifyingly enough, it wasn't the craziest plan Jaune had ever heard her concoct.

Jaune had been prepared since he went to sleep the night before. He'd identified the route he'd have to take through the Emerald Forest, identified the landmarks he would have to try and orient himself around in flight, and had also figured out where he was most likely to cross Pyrrha's path, formulating his plan around the information he had gathered first and second hand in the aftermath of his original exercise. As such, he spent the time getting himself into mental readiness. His approach to each situation had to be flawless if he wanted to be successful.

Breakfast was over in under half an hour, the short time aided by the lack of conversation, and soon the students were making their way back to the lockers. Jaune noted that Ruby didn't need help finding this building; of course, she would care far more about her weapon than less important things...like food. Jaune hung back for a bit while the sisters entered, breathing in and out slowly. This was his first interaction with Pyrrha; if he got it wrong, then the entire plan could be thrown off balance, and that was unacceptable. Jaune's eyes almost flashed as he opened them, utterly resolute. His plan would work; he would _make_ it work.

He crossed the room to locker 636, well away at the back. He passed between a rather indignant Ruby and a sheepish Yang, who seemed to be making an attempt to push Ruby into social interaction, much to her younger sister's dismay. As he continued walking, past the next row of lockers, he locked his neck, making sure that he didn't turn. He could hear Weiss speaking and, a moment later, her voice. Pyrrha's voice, that he had last heard whispering a teary apology before they were separated. It took everything Jaune had not to turn on the spot and run to her, but he forced himself to do it. He had to stick to the plan.

He collected Crocea Mors from its repository and returned it to its usual position on his belt. Having done so, he tried to force all the memories of Pyrrha which were messing with his emotions aside for a moment, stuck a silly grin on his face, and returned to where he knew Weiss was trying to talk Pyrrha into teaming up with her. "Oh, hello again, Weiss!" he greeted the heiress, whose entire body suddenly stiffened.

The pale girl turned slowly to look at him, and he knew that if looks could kill, it would take more than Monty to resurrect him. "You again." she stated, boring holes in him with her eyes.

"Yes, me again. Jaune Arc, the one and only." agreed Jaune cheerfully.

"Hello Jaune!" offered a third voice. He glanced in her direction uncontrollably, and his heart skipped a beat. As beautiful as he remembered, Pyrrha Nikos cut an undeniably impressive figure, seeming almost too good to be merely human. But that was just appearances – inside, Pyrrha was perfectly human...just a better soul than most.

"Yeah, hello." he replied, quickly turning back to Weiss.

Stick to the plan Jaune, stick to the plan...

"So, Weiss, after you spoke so admiringly of me the other day..." he began, watching from behind his mask of overconfidence as Weiss' marble face grew slowly redder, "and with the rumours about teams flying all around, I was thinking that perhaps you and I would make an interesting duo in the days to come. Waddya say?" Weiss seemed to be a bit too emotional to speak properly, and time seemed to slow for Jaune as he anxiously waited for the line he hoped was coming.

"Actually..." Oh thank Monty. "I think the teams are comprised of four students each." Jaune tried not to let the outpouring of relief he'd just experienced show on his face as he turned back to Pyrrha, and tried even harder to crush any signs of recognition.

"Oh, really? Well then I might as well offer a lady such as yourself the same deal." Keeping his voice straight was becoming increasingly difficult; listening to his father's advice had truly been one of his greatest mistakes.

Weiss apparently got herself back under control around that time, because she interjected physically, taking a stand between Jaune and Pyrrha. "Okay...Jaune, wasn't it?...do you have any idea who you're talking to?" His teammate. His teacher. His partner. His best friend. The only woman to ever think of him as more than a friend, more than family. The reason he was here now, trying to make things right.

"Not in the slightest." replied Jaune. Weiss seemed to blanch slightly.

"This," she began, "is Pyrrha."

The red-haired warrior waved from her position several inches above the heiress, with a cheery "Hello again!"

"Pyrrha was the top graduate in her class from Sanctum."

Still working to preserve his 'utterly oblivious' facade, Jaune managed to reply with "Never heard of it."

Weiss grew visibly more frustrated. "She's won the Mistral Regional Tournaments four years in a row; a new record." Jaune was sure that Monty was laughing at him from somewhere as he tried to hold himself together in the face of the combined laughter, longing and mild insanity which was building like an avalanche against his psyche.

"The what now?". His voice didn't even waver; someone ought to be giving him a medal.

Weiss' composure finally snapped. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" she exclaimed, flapping her arms out of sheer frustration. Jaune reassured himself that he could find a quiet corner for a moment after this conversation to vent; acting on top of a fragile mental state was taking its tole on him. Who would have thought Jaune Arc, the one and only, would have difficulty playing a fool.

He gasped, in the manner of a small child who just learned how the magician pulled a coin out of his ear. "That's you?" he exclaimed to Pyrrha, who was grinning sheepishly. "They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

Pyrrha nodded as she replied, "Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly the cereal isn't very good for you." Weiss had pulled herself together at last, and pushed back into the conversation.

"So, after hearing all this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Jaune turned his eyes downward, allowing his posture to slump in defeat.

"I guess not. Sorry." This was the moment of truth; Pyrrha's next action would tell Jaune whether or not his act had worked.

"Actually Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader." He felt a hand rest on his right shoulder for a moment, and looked up to find that Pyrrha had closed the gap between, standing with her hands behind her back no more than an arm's length away.

"Oh, thank you, Pyrrha, that's very kind of you." Jaune smiled, bringing himself back to his normal stance.

"You shouldn't encourage him, you know." Weiss scolded. Pyrrha rubbed the side of her head with a grin as Jaune turned around so he was facing the Schnee heiress once more.

"Well, apparently at least one person thinks I might be worth following. You sure you're not interested, Weiss? Spots for Team Jaune will be filling up fast." He gave her a wink, but remembering past mistakes once again, kept a decent length away from her. He didn't enjoy repairing his clothing; the last thing he needed was a javelin through his hood. Again.

A vein throbbed in the girl's forehead, but before she could respond, the intercom crackled into life. " _Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation, again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."_ Her retort apparently overridden by the instruction, Weiss simply turned on her heel and walked away. You could say what you wanted about the girl, she had certainly mastered conveying emotion through walking; Jaune didn't need her words to tell him that Weiss was utterly infuriated with him.

Pyrrha walked past him on his right, Miló in her right hand and Akoúo̱ in her left. "It was nice meeting you, Jaune."

"Likewise." he replied, as she exited the building and moved out of sight.

Moments later, Yang and Ruby moved up beside Jaune, having apparently been watching on. "Having any luck there, lady killer?" asked Yang, clapping Jaune on the shoulder. Jaune almost buckled; even casually, Yang was a force to be reckoned with.

"Well, Team Jaune is still a one man operation; I guess it takes more than confidence." Jaune replied, rubbing his head bashfully.

"Well, it's about time that changed; let's go, Jaune." said Ruby, patting him on the back to get him moving as they left the now-empty locker room as a group.

Minutes later, the three were lined up side-by-side with the rest of the first year students, atop the launch platforms on Beacon Cliff. Jaune had expected to be nervous about this part, but found that he was almost surprisingly calm. _I guess numerous near-death situations and a year of close-combat training with the best warrior in your year will take the edge off most scenarios_ , Jaune thought to himself. Ozpin and Goodwitch stood just to the side in front of him, and as soon as Ozpin finished his explanation, the first student was launched. Jaune had about twenty seconds to prepare for flight.

He bent his knees, leaning forward until he was crouched on the launch pad, and pulled Crocea Mors from his belt, activating the shield. He turned left in time to see Yang don her sunglasses before flying away into the sky, followed shortly after by her sister with a daredevil grin. Jaune had time to give the headmaster a smile of his own before he felt the platform shift, and suddenly he was airborne.

His fight brain took over as he began to implement his plan and landing strategy. He identified the landmarks which indicated where he'd ended up the last time he did this jump, and he angled himself towards it. He pulled his shield under his feet, turning it to the wind. He kept the shield in place with his left hand, and with his right he prepared a thrust with his sword.

Jaune's landing strategy went as follows: Use his shield to present a far less aerodynamic surface and thus much reduce his velocity, and once in an acceptable vicinity of his targeted landing spot, he should be low enough to dig his sword into tree branches. That would take even more speed off, and he should hit the ground with much less force. He would be injured of course, but lightly, and his aura would heal him in no time -

It takes markedly less time for the human brain to accept negative occurrences than to accept positive ones; it was for this reason that Jaune had only flown about a third of the way to his landing when his brain suddenly recalled an important fact: his aura was meant to be awakened today, by Pyrrha. And this lead to another fact: he was essentially falling the height of a cliff at a speed greater than gravity, with no way to land safely.

* * *

Pyrrha Nikos made her landing safely on a large branch near the top of a tree, and immediately checked her surroundings through Miló's scope. She noted a blonde figure in armour, holding a sword and shield, falling through the air. It seemed to be screaming.

Without a second though, Miló was transformed, aimed, and tearing through the sky. Seconds passed, until a faint "thunk" resonated through the forest. A distant "Thank you..." reached her ears, and she cupped her hands to her mouth to reply.

"I'm sorry!"

* * *

Jaune Arc sighed to himself as he swung gently in the breeze, attached as he was by his hoodie to a javelin stuck several inches deep in a tree for the second (technically) time in his life. It had all been going so well, too... He sighed again. _I guess all the forward knowledge in the world can't make up for stupidity._ He looked to the sky, considering the time. He was going to be here for about five minutes by his reckoning, until Pyrrha arrived to rescue him.

Well, it could be worse. Things were still, more or less, going according to plan.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Two chapters a day for two days. That's a record for me. And I keep managing to write them longer, which probably explains why it's pitch black now and I'm pretty sure it was light when I started. Ah, well.**

 **I hope you're enjoying the story; I'm certainly enjoying writing it. I want this version of Jaune to be a somewhat different person, being changed by his experiences and by his improved skills...but at the same time, I want him to be recognisable as Jaune. Hence, the occasional Jaune-esque moment.**

 **Please, leave any criticism or comments as a review, and I'll be sure to reply to you. Enjoy your day!**


	6. Chapter 6, Setting the Board

The Emerald Forest. A vast expanse of ancient flora directly adjacent to Beacon Academy, horizontally if not vertically. It was home to a multitude of species such as woodland owls, thrushes, robins and mammals ranging from being as small as field mice to being as large as a deer or the occasional wolf. Of course, they were heavily outnumbered by the forest's Grimm population, which was scaled to the forest's area.

Beowolves and Ursai were by far the most common, being the Grimm most suited to life in the forest. However, it also played home to a few of the more uncommon Grimm varieties; the ones which had grown in size, strength and wisdom over time. Of course, there was nothing in the forest which could prove dangerous to a fully-fledged Huntsman or Huntress; not even to a second year student.

Jaune knew that he had received the training required to understand those creatures, and that in the case of encountering them again, he would be well-equipped to deal with the situation. However, he was rather hoping that they would be able to avoid that, if at all possible. Just because he _knew_ how to deal with a Deathstalker didn't mean that he was particularly excited about tackling one in his current condition, or having his teammates anywhere near one when they were still at the weakest he had ever known them.

 _Then again,_ he mused, _they're still stronger than I am, so I guess that point's moot._ Jaune heard muttering and the sound of vegetation being shifted to his right, and turned his head slightly to see a figure in a white dress moving in his direction. Weiss was almost underneath him before she saw him dangling from Miló, and she just stopped and stared for a moment. Jaune carefully didn't meet her eyes, but he grinned and waved at her anyway.

That did the trick; with a huff, the Schnee heiress turned on her heel for the second time in Jaune's recent memory, and stalked back the way she had come, where Jaune could just see Ruby. He heard a triumphant "You came back!" as the duo moved away, and he chuckled.

He heard more rustling, from his left this time, and he looked over to find Pyrrha Nikos had reached him. "Jaune? Do you have any spots left on your team?" Jaune chuckled as he swung gently.

"I suppose I might be able to fit you in somewhere." Pyrrha smiled at him, a gesture which he returned, before she started to look around, searching for a way to get him down.

"It's alright, Pyrrha; I got this." Jaune's new partner raised an eyebrow at that.

"Oh really? This I have to see." Jaune had learned quite a bit about spear-weapons when training with Pyrrha, and part of that was learning how to deal with being stuck to something. When you could throw a spear with enough force to carry someone several feet, pinning them to surfaces where they had no leverage was a favourite technique, so Pyrrha had taught him a way to deal with it.

Jaune grabbed Miló's shaft with both hands, and pushing off the tree with his feet, managed to cross his ankles over the top of the weapon, so he was hanging from it by his hands and feet. Next, he shuffled along its length until he could remove his hands from the weapon and place them against the tree. Now came the tricky part. Focusing hard, Jaune hit the tree with a double-handed strike, feeling the weapon shift back a bit.

Two more strikes and Miló lost its grip, allowing Jaune to bring himself back to a vertical stance and land in a crouch, Pyrrha's weapon still stuck through his hoodie. He winced at the impact on his feet, knees and hands, but he couldn't roll with a sharp object in such close proximity to him – let alone a sharp object which would move with him. Jaune stood, pulling Miló out of his hoodie and presenting it to the warrior.

"Ta-da!"

Pyrrha laughed and clapped, taking back her weapon. "Very impressive, Jaune. Whichever combat school you attended, they must have had an interesting course; I've never seen that particular move before."

Oops.

When Jaune had first come to beacon, he had stood out due to his lack of skill; though it was unlikely that his advanced knowledge would put him forward beyond the ridiculous combat prowess of his classmates, it could still raise questions, and intense scrutiny would very much be a bad thing. "Oh, it's nothing special. That one...came from my family."

Hopefully that would serve as enough of an explanation for now, and Jaune looked around. Since Weiss had wandered into him, he knew that was in the same place from which he'd started his last visit to the forest – which was a good ways from where he'd wanted to land, and not in accessible view of any landmarks.

 _And just like that, I'm back to square one._ Jaune sighed to himself, then turned back to his companion. "Well, I guess we're partners from now on: your name was Pyrrha, wasn't it?". The red-haired warrior nodded.

"And you're Jaune – Jaune Arc, if I recall." Jaune gave a short bow.

"Indeed, the one and only...to everyone's relief. I didn't catch your last name?"

"Nikos. My name is Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune." She extended a hand, and Jaune took it. He could feel the strength of her hands, her grip far outstripping most men. Pyrrha was the furthest thing from a shrinking violet, and the unfairness of the world taking her way sparked new resolve in Jaune's mind. _Not this time_.

"Well, I suppose we'd better go in search of this temple. I think North is...that way?" Jaune turned so that the tree had so recently vacated was more or less on his left.

"I'd agree; we were launched northwards, and you were flying in that direction when I..."

"Saved my life?" completed Jaune. "You know you don't have anything to apologize for? I had absolutely no chance of getting out of that situation in one piece. I'd rather sow up my hoodie than my legs." Pyrrha immediately laid a hand on his shoulder for a moment, squeezing slightly in encouragement.

"Oh, Jaune, I'm sure you'd have been fine. You were skilled enough to get down from that tree, so I'm sure that whatever happened would have been light enough for your aura to take care of."

Jaune blushed slightly, looking away. He hadn't expected to be embarrassed...but things weren't the same between he and Pyrrha as they had been once upon a time. Not for him, at least. When he saw Pyrrha as his teacher, he'd had no issue admitting his weakness to her, since it was to get stronger. However, with his new perspective, he didn't really want to seem weak in front of her. But it needed to be done, so he couldn't shy away from it.

"Ah...well, about that. You see...uh...how do I put this..." Jaune scratched the back of his neck, trying to spit the words out.

"Jaune...has your aura not been unlocked yet?" The blonde nodded with a sigh, turning to find green eyes much closer to his own than he had been expecting. He tried to control the blush which was trying valiantly to make its way up his neck and across his face, but he held still as Pyrrha's hand rested on his cheek.

"...No. You see...my father never really approved of my application to Beacon. He didn't believe I had it in me to succeed here, so he refused to unlock my aura for me. He probably thought I'd be forced to come home without it." It wasn't entirely a lie. His family had, in fact, taught him nothing of being a Huntsman, neglecting to even talk about the existence of aura.

Everything he knew had been taught by Pyrrha the teachers of Beacon, but he could hardly come out with that story, so his family it would have to be. Pyrrha seemed to be carrying an internal conversation, which came to a quick conclusion. "All right. Jaune, I'll unlock your aura for you. Just close your eyes and concentrate." Jaune did just that, recalling all the time he had spent training in search of his semblance, all the attacks his aura had nullified, the powerful sensation as the energy moved through him, lending him its strength. Moments later, Pyrrha began the incantation he remembered so well.

" **For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee.** "

Jaune had been braced for the moment he knew was coming, but it still rolled over him like a tidal wave. As Pyrrha's aura flowed through him in search of his own, for just a moment, they became completely aware of one another; for less time than the human mind could meaningfully register, both of them knew the other's every thought and feeling, and in doing so created a bond greater even than that of some families.

It stopped almost as soon as it started, not lasting long enough for either Jaune or Pyrrha to interpret what the other was thinking or feeling – but each of them got a sense of the other person. The broad strokes of their character and experience, conveyed on a level far below conscious thought. It was exactly the same as last time; a warrior's strength and honourable grace, shining like the sun. This time, though, Jaune knew what to feel for – and he found it; a deep, aching loneliness, born of the isolation that only the pinnacle can offer.

Jaune felt the familiar power rise up around him, and opened his eyes as the eerie white flames of his aura made themselves seen, blanketing him. Pyrrha was leaning over, taxed by the effort, and Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks for that, Pyrrha. Are you going to be okay?". The red-head nodded, settling her breathing as she straightened, Jaune removing his hand as she did so. For a moment, Jaune thought he caught a glint in the corner of her eye, but it was gone when she blinked.

"Yes, I'll be fine Jaune. Unlocking someone else's aura is difficult in the best of conditions. However, yours is...interesting.". Jaune blinked; that didn't fit with his memories. Pyrrha hadn't said anything about his aura being unusual, not in all the time she had interacted with it.

"Interesting?" he prompted, wondering what could have precluded such a choice of words.

"Yes," Pyrrha continued, "it's not quite like any I've encountered. Most people's aura has a kind of...definite end to it. It only extends so far from its owner's body, except in special cases like a long range Semblance. But yours... it's almost like it flows _through_ you, rather than _from_ you. A river, instead of a lake.". She shook herself. "I haven't even heard of anything like it before – but from what I can tell, no matter where it's coming from, there's a lot of it.".

Jaune frowned. _Like a river..._ That really was an interesting comparison. He looked to the energy which roiled esoterically around him, but he couldn't identify a difference in its appearance from his previous experiences. "Well...I guess I really am the one and only Jaune Arc, then.".

Pyrrha's thoughtful expression was cracked by a smile, and she nodded. "Yes, indeed. Now then, shall we go?" Jaune nodded and, orienting himself with the direction they'd chosen, he set off, Pyrrha by his side.

The pair walked in silence for several minutes. Jaune was pondering the change which had apparently come over him. It had to be linked to what he had undergone somehow...had Monty sent him back with some kind of gift? Had his Semblance somehow been activated with his aura, and changed how it worked? There were too many possibilities and no way to be sure which were even plausible, let alone correct.

So absorbed was Jaune in his thoughts that when Pyrrha suddenly stopped walking, he took another step forward before following suit. He glanced over; his partner was staring dead ahead, and following her line of sight revealed a familiar rock face, replete with a jagged cave mouth. Jaune immediately dropped low, and after a moment, Pyrrha followed suit. "Jaune...I don't like the look of that cave." Jaune nodded.

"Yeah, me neither. Something about it is giving me a really bad feeling." Jaune wasn't lying; after all, just thinking about that Deathstalker made him shiver, even now. Of course, there was something else too; for some reason, there was a niggling in the back of his head as he stared at the entrance...

"Anyway, Ozpin said we were looking for a temple. That doesn't look like a temple to me; let's just move on." Pyrrha nodded, and the two of them began to move, still hunched over, back into the treeline and on in the direction which they had originally been traveling in. As they moved further and further away, Jaune began to relax – surely they were safe now?

A sudden, ominous creaking disabused him of that motion. Whirling around, Jaune found himself face to face with what he just _knew_ was the same Deathstalker which he had encountered a year in his past. His mind started racing as he tried to put the pieces together and figure out a plan for surviving the next few seconds. A quick analysis of the surrounding area showed Jaune what had been eating at him before; the entrance to the Grimm's lair was already broken open. However, from here, Jaune could see that the rubble was lying more inside the cave than out...someone had actually broken down the entrance from the outside?

That raised a lot more questions, but Jaune's brain was diverting all its power to surviving. The monster was still staring at Jaune and Pyrrha, who was in a stance which allowed her the options of either fleeing or fighting. Memories of tactical combat lessons, training sessions, and even Professor Port's stories, flew together in his mind to formulate a new, potentially suicidal, undeniably stupid plan. "Pyrrha, do as I do!"

With just that warning, Jaune powered to his feet, moving quickly in order to provoke the creature. It responded just as Professor Port had told them it would, using its claws to hem them in while the stinger plunged forward to try and impale them. Here was where Jaune turned the creature's own nature against it. Though he may might be outgunned or outmaneuvered in any fight he might walk into, Jaune had one thing going for him: he'd never met anyone who could out-flinch him. A minor shift of stance and a turn, and the stinger moved straight between them both, Pyrrha also having dodged the projectile.

Somehow finding time to take a deep breath and fire off a quick prayer in his mind, Jaune leaped forward, hanging onto the armoured black appendage. Pyrrha joined him, and both were raised into the air as the creature retracted its tail. They both held on doggedly as they were shaken around, until Jaune saw the creature's legs bend backward in readiness. "Alright, here's our ticket out of here!"

Jaune's partner looked at him like was crazy – he probably was at this point. But even now, she placed her trust in him as a show of faith. So, as the Deathstalker reared back and launched its tail forward, both students released their grips, resulting in a soaring arc above the forest.

* * *

Jaune knew he had only seconds to discern where they were going to land and develop a strategy, but as a familiar stone structure come into view, everything clicked. A glance up showed a figure in red falling from the sky on a trajectory just to the right of Jaune's and the left of Pyrrha's.

Jaune managed to throw out his right arm, and Pyrrha mirrored him with her left just in time; as they passed on either side of Ruby, each grabbed hold of her and took her with them. Both their auras flared as they crashed into the upper layer of an unfortunate tree, shearing the top off it. The trio fell to the ground in a clatter of metal, and Jaune found Ruby's elbow seemed to have made a spirited attempt to embed itself in his stomach.

Pyrrha had landed slightly apart from them, and thus was spared any such injuries. Immensely thankful that his aura was up and running, and even more so that he was naturally gifted with large reserves, Jaune wheezed his way onto his feet, Ruby and Pyrrha simply standing. A call of "Ruby?!" made Yang's presence clear, as she ran over to the slightly ruffled group.

"Yang!" replied Ruby, her freefall of moments ago apparently forgotten. Looking past the sisters, Jaune could see Blake standing on the steps of the temple, watching on in bemusement. If he remembered his timing, then about now was when...

A massive crashing from the opposite side of the clearing heralded the appearance of an Ursa, demolishing trees as it seemed to rampage in the party's direction...only to fall moments later, leaving Nora Valkyrie to roll over its back. "Aw...it's broken." As the loosely grouped package of energy, force and leg-breaking enthusiasm which the rest of the world knew as Nora examined her erstwhile transport, Ren finally caught up, breathing heavily.

While he unknowingly made a plea to empty air that it never repeat its actions, Nora happily retrieved a White Tower piece from the selection available. A quick examination of the plinths revealed that only one White Knight piece remained; Blake and Yang must already have retrieved theirs. Jaune looked around, doing a headcount: with himself, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora, team JNPR was present. But only Yang, Blake and Ruby were in the clearing with them – where was...

An angry call of "How could you leave me?!" echoed through the clearing, as the now assembled seven looked upward. Weiss Schnee was dangling from a Nevermore's oversized talon...well, she had been. Now she was divebombing in their direction. Jaune looked around; no time to get himself in a position to slow her down before impact. He looked over to Ruby.

"Hey, think you can catch her?" Ruby shook her head to clear it, before drawing Crescent Rose and leaping into the sky, the remaining six students scattering in order to avoid the bullets which served as Ruby's means of propulsion. Team RWBY's youngest member easily intercepted her falling partner, turning her vertical plummet into a more controllable arc, which Ruby landed by leaving twin furrows of dug earth in her heels' wake. The image of Ruby carrying Weiss bridal-style brought a smile to his face, and he shook his head as Weiss demanded Ruby put her on her feet.

That brought both teams together. Jaune stood back a bit, trying to imprint the memory in his mind. He wanted this one to last a lifetime. Unfortunately, the moment was broken by the arrival of the Deathstalker. If creatures of Grimm could be said to have one positive trait, it would have to be their tenacity. A cry overhead signaled the return of the Nevermore, and Jaune drew Crocea Mors instantly as his mind calculated plans based around the seven people he had available.

All present save Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren yelped something along the lines of "Is that a Deathstalker?! Where the hell did that come from!" Well, Nora was excepted too; she just smiled more than usual.

Jaune remembered this moment well. It was one of the things he'd been debating since last night. Should he change what happened here? Jaune was sure that with the right motivation he could get everyone working together, and he was certain that they could at least disable the Deathstalker eight on one...but in the end, this was a pivotal moment for Ruby and Weiss, where they came to understand one another. It had to remain a fixed point. So, as Ruby took off on her own with a cry, her attack failing to have any impact whatsoever, Jaune kept himself from moving.

He saw Pyrrha beginning to move out of the corner of his eye too, and he placed a single finger surreptitiously on his hand. She turned to face him, angry questioning on her face, and he jerked his head towards Weiss, whose face was cycling through most of the emotional spectrum as Yang sprinted toward her younger sister. Pyrrha looked to the heiress, then over to the now running Ruby, and gritted her teeth as she reached the same conclusion Jaune had – albeit her reasons were more to do with honour and respect between warriors. Whereas Jaune's were due to time travel and a plan which would be a year in the making.

Jaune kept still even as the Nevermore pinned Ruby in place, Yang brought to a halt by the shower of deadly projectiles. He saw the Deathstalker get into range for its tail, and then he felt the sudden rush of air to fill the now empty void where Weiss had stood moments ago. The heiress crossed the distance to Ruby in the blink of an eye, Myrtenaster flashing blue as she drew on the Ice Dust within. A flash of light and the crack of freezing moisture filled the air as an icy wall rose between Weiss, Ruby and the Deathstalker, trapping the monster's tail. Weiss crouched down to Ruby's level, and though Jaune didn't hear their actual words, the meaning passing between them was clear.

The partners returned to the main group with Yang in tow, the blonde probably having done more harm to her sister through hugging than the Deathstalker had managed. "So," Jaune began, "while that was an impressive display, I don't think it'll hold that thing forever. Anyone else in favour of getting what we came for and legging it before that thing gets free?" Weiss nodded.

"I concur. There's no sense in dilly-dallying with our objective right in front of us." Ruby nodded as well.

"Let's just get an artifact each and head to the cliffs; that was what we were told to do in the first place."

Jaune and Ruby moved into the ruined stone structure, reaching for the two remaining artifacts at the same time. Ruby claimed the White Knight, the counterpart to her sister's piece, while Jaune grabbed hold of the White Rook piece, and so the futures of Team JNPR and Team RWBY were cemented. The two grinned at each other as they retrieved their artifacts; they'd made it this far. Things were looking up now.

Jaune and Ruby returned to the group, and Ruby immediately gestured for everyone to follow along as she raced in the direction of the cliffs, their peaks just visible over the rise directly ahead. Jaune happily let her take the spotlight, relieved that things seemed to be back on track, despite the upsets of the day. He jogged alongside Pyrrha near the middle of the group, sheathing Crocea Mors so he could run more effectively. He was beginning to tire and he knew that he needed as much energy as he could muster for what came next.

* * *

It took about five minutes to reach the ruined stone constructions which led to the cliffs, and Jaune spotted the Nevermore perched atop the tallest tower even as he draw Crocea Mors and moved to place his back against a nearby pillar. Pyrrha joined him, Miló and Akoúo̱ ready and waiting. The others were also ready for combat, standing one pair to a pillar out of the Nevermore's view. "Well that's great." moaned Yang, and as if on cue, the Deathstalker burst out of the tree line behind them.

The students scattered, running for the stone bridge as Ren called for Nora to distract the Nevermore. Bright pink explosions buffeted the Grimm creature, which banked away to break line-of-sight, and Nora was quickly pulled from the Deathstalker's path by Weiss, while Blake and Ren used their mobility to evade the monster's attacks. Jaune knew that this was when he needed to make a difference...something to even the playing field somewhat.

He racked his brain for a moment, then finally came to a possibility. Once he and Pyrrha reached the bridge, instead of running on, he turned and stood with her as she provided covering fire for Blake and Ren. While he still had time, he faced along the bridge toward the retreating Nora, Weiss, Yang and Ruby. "Incoming on the left!" he yelled, his warning carrying and alerting his allies to the approaching Nevermore.

He couldn't wait to see what they did with it though, as Ren and Blake reached them. Instead of continuing along the bridge, they heeded his warning and after checking for themselves, they stood alongside Jaune and Pyrrha on the bridge, facing the Deathstalker.

Moments later, the whole structure shook as the Nevermore crashed through the bridge, throwing the rest of their allies forward. Jaune knew that Nora would get over to this side of the bridge in order to help Ren, so he turned to Blake. "Blake, Nora's going to be here in a seconds; when she gets here, go help Ruby and the others!" He didn't take the time to check if she believed him or not – she was a skilled warrior, and she would make the best choice when the time came. Until then...

Jaune raised his shield as the Deathstalker's claw slashed at him, setting his stance and pushing as hard as he could at just the right time, stopping the strike in its tracks. Pyrrha and Ren were fending off the other appendage with gunfire and Akoúo̱. Blake dashed in, landing several strikes which failed to penetrate the Deathstalker's armour, before Nora made her entrance. The colossal strike she landed on the Grimm failed to truly harm it, but even as she was moving backward, Blake was using Gambol Shroud to swing her way towards Yang and the others.

Team JNPR faced the Deathstalker, and for a moment Jaune felt like nothing had changed at all. "Pyrrha, we'll get the claws; Ren, go for the tail; Nora, get ready for the final blow!" Jaune led the charge, brandishing his weapons, adrenaline pumping his body to the limit as he absorbed another hit from the monster, before bringing his blade around in an overhead arc, biting into the gap between the Deathstalker's armour plates.

Loud clangs and more fleshy noises beside him spoke to Pyrrha's own assault on the creature, while Ren flipped overhead and managed to swing himself up behind the Deathstalker's stinger, emptying round after round from Stormflower into it.

"Okay, disengage!" Jaune fell back, still guarding with Crocea Mors, while Pyrrha did so as well. The monster's stinger was hanging loose, dangling precariously over the main body.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called, and she didn't need to be told any more than that. Throwing Akoúo̱ with deadly accuracy, Jaune's partner severed the stinger, its own weight driving it down through the Grimm's armour.

"Okay, Nora! Hit it!" Jaune crouched, shield above his head, Pyrrha following his lead. He felt Nora land on the platform they presented, and they both launched themselves at the same time as Nora fired Magnhild, propelling her in a high but gentle arc through the air as she laughed. Jaune took the opportunity to step back and pull Crocea Mors into a guard position, and just in time; Nora fell from the heavens like a lightning bolt, driving the stinger all the way through the Deathstalker. Numerous chips of armour and stone bouncing off his shield as he charged forward, up and over the corpse. No sooner had he and Pyrrha made it off the bridge than it collapsed into the abyss below.

The four of them panted heavily, trying to catch their breath after the confrontation. Jaune looked up from his crouching position to find that Ren was still on his feet this time. _Hah. He didn't get thrown by the Deathstalker. It's a little thing...but it's a start._ Finally pulling himself together, Jaune pulled himself together enough to stand, and watching Team RWBY demolish the Nevermore with a flawlessly executed display of teamwork.

As Ruby's scream went higher and higher alongside the Grimm she was dragging, it carried across to the four onlookers, until finally Ruby reached the cliff's peak, and the monster's head flew from its shoulders. As the titanic body collapsed back down the cliff, Jaune looked at the small figure in red whose cloak trailed a red cloud behind her, creating a picture straight out of legend. "Wow.", was all he could manage to say. Even seeing this for the second time, it was a sight to behold.

Jaune shook his head before turning around to face his fellows. "I don't know about you guys, but I really want to outdo that."

"Ooooh, yes." confirmed Nora, as despair consumed Ren's face at the prospect. Pyrrha's gaze lingered on Ruby for a moment longer before she turned to face Jaune.

"I have to admit, I can't help but see that as a kind of challenge...yes, a challenge, and one I'd gladly accept." Jaune grinned as Ren held his face in his hands.

"Then it's settled; we four will grow stronger and stronger until we can outdo those guys. All in favour?" He punched his fist into the air, closely followed by Nora and Pyrrha, while Ren held out for a moment before joining in with a resigned sigh.

"Well, that's all well and good," noted Pyrrha, "but how can you be so sure that we'll be a team?"

Jaune smiled. "Oh come on. How could we not be after all this?"

He turned around again, eyes scanning the vicinity. The bridge was destroyed. A large swathe of the forest was completely wrecked. All four of them here were basically wiped, and from their body language team RWBY weren't at their best either.

"On the bright side, I think we've caused enough damage on the way here to scare away everything on the way back"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Well, this has been quite the experience. I made the decision early on that I was going to write the Emerald Forest as one piece, but I have to admit that I might have underestimated just how much content that actually entailed, even following just from Jaune's point of view. This may well end up being the longest chapter I ever write, depending on whether or not another arc / event is important enough to write uninterrupted.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this even partly as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you'll leave some comments or criticism as a review. Enjoy your day!**

 **EDIT: Thanks to dragoon109, who pointed out that Jaune was definitely stronger than I was portraying him to be. Some edits have been made, so this should have been corrected.**


	7. Chapter 7, Taking Root

Jaune and his team waited for team RWBY to make their way across the gap in the bridge; Weiss made use of her glyphs, Ruby propelled herself with Crescent Rose, and Yang used the length of Gambol Shroud's ribbon to give Blake enough speed to make the crossing before following with blasts from Ember Celica.

"That was an incredible display you guys put on." Jaune congratulated the group as they approached.

"Well of course. What else would you expect from us?" replied Weiss, as Ruby settled for just smiling.

Yang nodded, confirming that "Yeah, that was a thing." Blake remained quiet, and since Jaune didn't know her that well, he couldn't guess at her mind set – but he chose to believe she was probably in a good mood like her team mates.

"Yeah, it was great. However, we should probably return to the cliffs; we have four artefacts much less daylight than I'm comfortable with." Ren's voice of reason made itself known, and the rest of the team took note that the light was most definitely fading.

"Ren's right. Let's run back to the cliffs. They should be directly south of here?" Jaune looked for confirmation; he got a nod from Ren and Pyrrha, as well as Blake, so he oriented himself according to the sun. "All right then people, let's go get our hero's welcome!"

Jaune took off at a light jog, wanting to balance his remaining stamina with making it back to the school before night time. The group had made it back to the cliffs by early evening in his memory, and he wanted to make it at least that quickly. Seven pairs of padding feet joined the sound of his own, and moments later a figure drew level with Jaune at the head of the pack.

"You know, I can understand your knowing Nora's name. You were nearby when she rode the Ursa into the clearing, so you could have heard me calling her. But Nora doesn't really use of my name much - she just assumes I know she's talking to me. I'm also sure that none of the others here know my name either. So...how do _you_ know it?".

Jaune kept quiet for a moment as Ren posed the question. He'd messed up; he could rationalise it as being a calculated risk, using Ren's name in the fight and hoping he wouldn't notice...but Jaune had learned much of his situational analysis and observational technique from the dark haired young man, so he should have known that the martial artist would notice. He turned to look at him; Ren's eyes were steady and searching, meeting Jaune's own unflinchingly. Jaune sighed, before moving over so that he could speak without being overheard.

"Yeah, I guess you got me there. I actually did some research on most of the students who were going to be at Beacon this year. I got the names from an information broker, and I just looked into the ones who I could find information on. That's where I got your name and Nora's, as well as Blake's." Ren's eyes narrowed.

"You know, that information is meant to be kept confidential." Jaune nodded in agreement, his eyes facing forward now so he could watch the route.

"Yeah. But I'm...shall we say _underdeveloped,_ in comparison to all of you. So I tried using information to give myself a more even playing field." Jaune knew that this would resonate with Ren, who was a great believer in the power of information. That made it more believable and more forgiveable. Thus, Jaune could preserve a future relationship with Ren while at the same time covering for his own mistake.

He hoped.

There was silence for almost a minute, but Jaune didn't dare turn to check on the runner beside him. If he did, his future team mate could infer that he wasn't confident in his story, and disbelieve it. That would cause all kinds of trouble, so Jaune wanted to avoid it if at all possible.

"I suppose I can understand your reasoning. It's the kind of thing I would do...Jaune, wasn't it?" The blonde warrior nodded as he ran, still trying to get his breathing rhythm back from the conversation. "Well, I'll let slide. However, if you want to know more about Nora and I, I'd prefer if you simply asked next time." Jaune nodded vigorously to signify his assent, then settled back into his rhythm while Ren fell back to run with Nora. That was one disaster averted at least.

Moments later, however, another figure moved up beside Jaune. Red hair flowing as she ate up ground despite her fatigue, Pyrrha fell into step with him. The look on her face told Jaune that she was ordering her thoughts, so he let her think, waiting to hear what he had to say. "I believe I owe you an apology, Jaune." were her first words, and they certainly weren't what Jaune had been expecting.

"An apology?" he panted, "what for?"

"Well, when we first met in the locker room...I didn't think you were much of a warrior. You were funny, and even somewhat...charming...in your own way," Pyrrha continued, coughing to the side as she muttered 'charming' so lowly that Jaune barely caught it, "but nothing about you made me think that you were going to be like you are. You've shown me that you're knowledgeable, skillful and quick-thinking. So, I wanted to apologise for thinking less of you than I should have." Jaune tried to cut in, but Pyrrha apparently wasn't finished. "And so, I just wanted to apologise.". Here she finally petered out, apparently waiting for Jaune to respond.

Of course, Jaune knew that his response could very well define the course of their relationship in the future. So, he took a moment to compose himself, before deciding that he could deal with oxygen deprivation in exchange for answering Pyrrha properly. "Pyrrha...thank you. It means a lot that you think so highly of me, it truly does. Since you do...I was hoping that you might be willing to spend some time with me. I'm nothing special in combat - I need to be stronger. So...would you consider teaching me?"

The red-head blinked as she processed Jaune's request, and he waited with (figuratively) baited breath. Then she smiled. "Of course I'll train you, Jaune; you're my partner, after all."

With all the acts he'd been putting on lately, Jaune felt good at being able to genuinely smile again. "Thank you, Pyrrha. Thank you."

Pyrrha ran alongside Jaune for the remainder of the way back to the cliff, a companionable silence moving with them as they travelled. Once faced with the massive edifice, the group put their heads together and came up with a strategy for scaling the rock face. First, Yang found the tallest nearby tree and used Ember Celica to launch herself to a point about two thirds up the cliff.

Next, as proof of concept, Jaune balanced himself on his shield, which Ren and Pyrrha launched upwards as the blonde struggled to maintain his balance. With him in the air, Nora had no problem swinging Magnhild in a massive upward arc, detonating on impact with the metal. Jaune was sent hurtling up the cliff face and, as he passed Yang, she grabbed his wrist and sped him up again, as he had begun to slow. The combined velocity was enough for Jaune to reach the top of the cliff, and with his shield dangling from his foot by its strap, he pulled himself onto the peak.

He poked his head over the side and waved to his teammates below, who waved back in confirmation. Next up was Pyrrha, who got the same treatment as Jaune except with Ruby and Blake lifting alongside Ren. Another detonation and Pyrrha was just below Jaune in seconds, who caught her outstretched hand and helped pull her up beside him. Next up were Ren and Blake. Ren balanced on the back of Magnhild's head, and when Nora fired, he used the upward thrust to reach a bit below Yang on the cliff face, digging in with Stormflower.

He started using his weapon as a climbing tool as he made his way upward. Blake used the same launching strategy, but she also used her semblance as a spring board to gain some extra height, bringing Gambol Shroud's range close enough for Yang to catch the thrown weapon about half way along the ribbon.

Grunting with effort, Yang moved swung Blake back and forth on the end of her weapon until with one almighty swing the sombre girl was catapulted further up, where the now-freed ribbon from her weapon was swung toward Jaune and Pyrrha. They caught it together, providing a stable anchor for Blake to use in climbing up to them. Ren reached the top a few moments later, walking to stand with the other three as they waited for Nora. Delighted laughter and an explosion echoed from the cliff's base and grew louder as Nora sailed upward on the force of her weapon's detonation, aided by one of Weiss' acceleration glyphs.

Once Jaune, Pyrrha, Blake, Ren and Nora were secured at the cliff top, Gambol Shroud was extended down to Yang while the five students who had already made it held onto the other end. With a heave, Yang threw herself far enough up the cliff to grab hold of the ribbon, and she was hauled up to join the others. Second to last was Ruby. Weiss created a road of glyphs up the cliff-side, and the group's youngest member simply ran to join her sister. After that, it was only moments before the Schnee heiress used her glyphs as platforms, leaping from circle to circle, moving ever higher until she finally reached the top and set down lightly.

The eight turned as one when they heard a gentle clapping from behind them. Ozpin stood there with Professor Goodwitch, clapping gently. Jaune realised they must have been standing there all along...but he hadn't even noticed. _Either the headmaster's really sneaky, or I'm way too tired for this._

"That was very nicely done. I see that we have four partnerships here - I am glad to see that the spirit of camaraderie that Huntsmen and Huntresses have relied on for so long making itself known so early on in the year." The silver haired headmaster stopped his clapping, his hands returning to rest on his cane.

"Since you are the last groups to arrive, head straight back to the hall where I first greeted you. I will be revealing the teams there. But first, your artefacts, if you please." Ruby, Yang, Jaune and Nora stepped toward the beckoning Ozpin, who nodded to Professor Goodwitch. The Huntress logged which partners had chosen which pieces, as those apart from Jaune finally realised that the artefacts they had collected were matching sets. Ozpin then collected the pieces, returning them to foam impressions in a black case by his feet, and then gestured in the direction of the school.

* * *

Taking the hint, the weary but victorious group made their way back through the lightly wooded surroundings of Beacon, reaching the assembly hall together. They only had to wait a minute before Ozpin appeared on the stage, and started announcing the matching pairs who had collected sets of artefacts. As soon as Team CRDL had been announced, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora began moving forward as their names were called out.

They stood in front of the headmaster, who looked to each of them in turn. "The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as: Team Juniper." An excited Nora giggled happily at the announcement, turning to embrace Ren as she did so. "Led by..."

Here Jaune stiffened. This was the last moment where his future alongside his team could change. If he wasn't chosen to be the leader, there was a possibility that the team dynamics he was familiar with would be changed, and have unforeseen consequences.

"Jaune Arc." Jaune let out an explosive breath at the announcement, bringing a hand to his chest. Ozpin leaned slightly closer, taking his sudden expulsion of air as surprise. "Congratulations, young man." he told Jaune, who turned to see Pyrrha smiling massively at him. She gave him a decent tap on the shoulder with her fist, which thankfully didn't knock him over in front of all the first year students. Jaune led his team down from the stage, making way for the final team to be announced.

Jaune gave Ruby a thumbs up as she and the rest of the soon-to-be Team RWBY climbed onto the stage while Ozpin made his final announcement. "Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as...Team RWBY. Led by...Ruby Rose."

And with that, all the pieces fell into place. Jaune knew that the board was ready now, and the grand scheme was finally about to begin. In that moment, he and Ozpin shared the exact same sentiment.

It truly was going to be an interesting year.

* * *

With Team RWBY's formation, the first year students moved from the hall in their teams, receiving slips of paper from another teaching aide as well as devices which resembled two white handles with a yellow diamond in the centre. Nora and Pyrrha immediately opened the Scrolls; Pyrrha so she knew what its purpose was, Nora to try and find if it had any games on it. Jaune was already more than familiar with the devices, so he didn't bother, and instead examined the paper. The sheets detailed the room in which each team was situated, and where in the dorm building it was.

Jaune examined it, and almost stopped in his tracks. They'd been given the same room. The exact same room as Team JNPR had been in for the past year of Jaune's life. _Something isn't right about all these coincidences...then again, it might be just that._ Jaune knew exactly how to decide that though. He searched for a bit before spotting Ruby and her team, and he gestured for Pyrrha, Ren and Nora to follow him as he moved toward them.

He hailed them with a "Hey guys!" once they were closer, and the four girls stopped for a moment to let them catch up. "Congrats on becoming a team leader, Ruby." was Jaune's greeting, as he raised his right hand.

"Congrats yourself Jaune." was Ruby's reply as she high-fived the blonde. Yang grinned as she nodded to her fellow blonde.

"I guess Team Jaune became a reality, eh lady killer? Nice work." Jaune laughed with the others; it was hard to believe that everything which had happened was only one day – and this was Jaune's second time doing it.

"Thanks, Yang. Hey, where's you guys' room?" Ruby moved to stand next to Jaune so they could compare their sheets.

"Hey Jaune, you guys are right across the corridor from us! How awesome is that?" The blonde tactician was vaguely aware that he answered in the positive, but he couldn't have repeated the exact words; his mind was occupied by the unique sensation of his blood running cold.

 _Okay, that cinches it. I get my old locker; I run into the Deathstalker I met the first time I entered the forest, which has already been released from the cave; Pyrrha and I arrive just in time to catch Ruby, when I intercepted her completely by accident the first time around; and now we end up with the exact same rooms? There's something I'm not seeing about this situation..._

Jaune felt a small hand on his right shoulder. "Hey Jaune, you all right? You looked really weird for a moment there." Ruby had apparently seen his train of thought pass across his face. Jaune would have to be more careful with that in the future.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just really tired. Shall we go and find these rooms then?" Ruby seemed to accept his plea of fatigue, and so the group set off for the dorm building. Jaune just remembered to pull one of his gloves off and open his Scroll, pressing his fingertips to its screen as it scanned them. The device compared the pattern to the school's database, searching for a match. The others noticed and copied him, and by the time they had crossed the courtyard each person's scroll had identified its owner.

They reached the dorm building quickly, and Jaune followed the familiar corridors to the two doors which housed teams JNPR and RWBY. "Looks like this is it." Jaune turned around. The other seven members of the group had been following his lead, since he was displaying such confidence in is directions.

"Well, I think we're all tired out now - so I guess we'll talk again in the morning?" Mumbles and nods met his words, and since Jaune echoed the sentiment, he pressed his Scroll against a panel beside the dorm room door. A moment later it beeped, and the door clicked open as it recognised Jaune's access permission. Moving inside, he found that the team's bags had already been placed in the room.

He moved forward and collected his, placing it on one of the four beds. The other three members of the team moved into the room behind him, Ren flicking the light switch on as he closed the door.

Dead on his feet, Jaune pulled a towel and some clean clothes from his bag alongside the toiletries he'd made use of the previous night and zombie-shuffled his way into one of the two bathrooms. The room was composed of five separated areas: the main room, with four beds and a matching number of desks which could be used for studying, as well as four chests of drawers. Two two-man bathrooms, making for four showers, four cubicle toilets and four sinks. Finally, there were also two walk-in wardrobes, which allowed for private changing since this was a co-ed room. Beacon was a prestigious school, and its dorms very much echoed that fact.

One hot shower, some clean clothing and a tooth-brushing later, Jaune felt almost human again. He moved out of the bathroom in a loose t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms, still drying his hair. Nora, Pyrrha and Ren were still taking their showers, so Jaune simply fell into the bed he'd placed his bag on and was passed out before his head touched the pillow.

* * *

 _Jaune opened his eyes._

 _Or at least, he thought he did. The world was as dark with them open as with them shut, and after a moment he realised that the darkness was familiar. He took stock - he was sitting in a chair, and to his right was the table which had been present when he was last here. Occupying the other seat was Monty, once again sitting with his legs folded and his hands in his lap._

 _ **"Hello again, Jaune. I've decided to take advantage of your sleeping mind to come and have a chat with you."** Jaune nodded, deciding that if Monty had need to speak with him, he probably needed to hear what he had to say. _

_"Well, I'm here; what did you want to talk about?" he asked._

 _Jaune's God shifted uncomfortably in his seat. **"Well, Jaune, I've decided that after you've done such a good job of getting situated, I figured you were owed some proper answers. So, I'm offering this: ask any one question to do with your current situation, and I'll answer it fully and truthfully."** Jaune pondered that for a moment. Any question...this could be a major source of intelligence. _

_But, at the same time, one question burned in his mind and heart, and he made the choice to let it out. "Why me? Of all the people you could have called into service, you chose me – why was that?"_

 _The black haired figure sighed, his posture slipping in a classic show of defeat. **"Well Jaune, I promised the truth, so I won't sugar coat it. I chose you because you were convenient."**_

 _Of all the possibilities Jaune had considered, his being 'convenient' was not one of them. Monty was continuing however, even in the face of Jaune's stunned incredulity. **"You see, after Beacon's fall, I was looking for anyone who I could use to try and set things right. Honestly, you weren't my first choice. You weren't even my tenth. But in one fell swoop, you put yourself right in my sights; a young man with nothing to lose and everything to gain, a skilled tactician and warrior with a decent character – and you happened to die within two days of Beacon falling. It was almost too easy to pick you."** _

_Jaune sat and absorbed this information. Monty Oum, his God, had chosen to send him back in time to prevent the destruction of Beacon Academy...because he was in the right place at the right time. Monty sighed and leaned back. **"You'll need time to process this. I understand that. I'll let you get back to sleeping now."** He stood up from the table and began to walk away into the emptiness. But before he vanished entirely, he turned back. _

_**"Oh, and Jaune - just a heads-up. Apparently, my pulling you out of the life and death cycle has twisted your soul a bit. As a result, you may find that your aura, and indeed your Semblance, are a bit...unusual. I trust you'll figure it out."**_

 _And on that bombshell, Jaune fell back into an uneasy sleep._

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **All right, and the stage is set! Have to admit that this one went on longer than I expected; I tried to write it skipping the part where they scale the cliffs, but my continuity sense wasn't having any of it. From this point on is where things should get more interesting for Jaune, so I hope you enjoyed this enough to stick around and see what happens next.**

 **Please note that I'll probably be writing more slowly over weekends due to shifting from a desktop PC to a battered old Lenovo laptop, but then again I'll have more time, so perhaps you won't notice.**

 **Either way, leave any criticism or comments as a review, and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	8. Chapter 8, Discovery and Acceptance

Jaune's eyelids creaked open reluctantly, his mind protesting that five more minutes wouldn't hurt. At least his body wasn't complaining; the enhanced healing that his large aura reserves lent him had dealt with any physical issues over night. Jaune had been woken by Nora's usual morning chorus; sitting up in bed, he could see her shaking Ren into wakefulness across the room.

She slept in basically the same outfit as Jaune, a t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms, though hers were more...colourful. Ren wore what he called a 'jinbei' when he was sleeping; it closely resembled a t-shirt and pyjama trousers, though the sleeves hung from the top's main body by thick threads instead of being fully attached, and the shirt was tied closed. Pyrrha's sleepwear consisted of a simple pyjama bottoms-and-top combo.

Swinging his legs out of his bed, Jaune couldn't take the time to appreciate Ren's failing attempts to sleep through Nora's alarm-clock impression. His thoughts were too occupied. Pyrrha gave him a sleepy wave as he walked to the bathroom he and Ren had used the night before, but he barely even noticed. _I was...convenient._ Jaune pushed open the bathroom door, walking to stand in front of a sink. He stared at himself in the mirror. _I didn't earn this; I'm not the only person who could have done this. I wasn't even the tenth..._

Jaune struggled with his emotions, his hands clenching into fists on the counter. The Jaune in the mirror seemed to taunt him, as it brought to mind all the ways in which Jaune knew those around him so outshone him. Anger, humiliation and self-loathing rose up in equal measures, and not able to take it any more, Jaune spun around and drove his fist into the wall as hard as he could.

He kept hitting it, again and again, and didn't stop until he was back in control. He panted, leaning against the wall, before finally taking a deep breath. _So I was convenient. That's not great, but it doesn't matter now. I'm here; for whatever reason, I am here, and I have a second chance. I won't waste it for my ego's sake. Get your head in the game, Arc!_ Straightening, Jaune felt that he was stable enough to go out into the world now. After he checked on his fist of course. Strange how it didn't hurt despite what he must have...done to...it...

Jaune stared at his hand. His totally unblemished hand, which had just been thrown full-force into a solid wall at least ten times. He flexed his fingers in disbelief, and it responded flawlessly. There was still feeling in the hand...his nerves were working as normal. So what was going on? A sneaking suspicion dawned in his mind, and Jaune looked to where he'd attacked the wall.

His breath caught in his throat as he registered the cracks running across the tiles, and the knuckle-depth indentations which revealed the more solid load-bearing wall behind them. He'd done that? The only person he knew who could break walls with their fists was Yang, and only because of her Semblance.

Jaune curled his hand into a fist again, moving it up to the imprint in the wall. His knuckles fit perfectly, and he realised that even his fingers had left slight indents. _What in Monty's name..._ The sound of the door opening came to Jaune's ears, and he spun around to see Ren entering slowly.

"Hey, Jaune? Are you okay? There was a really strange feeling coming out of here, and then we heard something breaking..." The martial artist looked from Jaune to the wall beside him, eyes assessing everything, from the look on Jaune's face to the way he held his right hand away from his body, and the obvious fact that the damage was inflicted with a fist.

"Well, at least that explains the cracking sound we heard." Ren moved closer to Jaune, eyes narrowed...but they were examining the air around Jaune, rather than the blonde himself.

"I...I had a bad dream." Jaune managed to mutter. While he knew the characters of his team mates, if they thought he was unbalanced, then it was going to make his plans for the future much more difficult to implement.

"I can understand that. It's plain to see that you're dealing with something – my guess would be on a major loss." Jaune shivered. He'd known that his acting wasn't great, but Ren had seen through it in less than a day. _What else would you expect from Jaune Arc, patron saint of uncontrollable coincidences and personal failure?_ asked a snide voice from Jaune's mind, as he gritted his teeth.

Ren moved forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's all right. I don't think the others have noticed – though I'd bet you can talk with them about it. Nora and I have...our own experiences, with loss. And unless I'm wide of the mark, that Nikos girl would be more than willing to lend you a shoulder." Jaune sighed, the hand on his shoulder settling his chaotic mind. Yes, this was the Ren he remembered. Always quiet, because when you see everything, you come to realise that discretion is often the better part of valour.

"Thank you, Ren. I might take you up on that one of these days." As Jaune's thoughts re-ordered themselves, his mind took up its previous question. What was happening to him? Ren, who was by far the most skilled manipulator of aura Jaune had ever heard of, had said there was a strange feeling...and what had Monty said to him the night before? That his aura and Semblance might have become...unusual?

Was that what had caused this? "Now then Jaune" began Ren, "I'm sorry to ask, but would you mind activating your aura for me? I'd like to check something." Jaune nodded. He had his own suspicions, and he wanted to try and deal with them.

Jaune focussed inward for a moment, and his aura flared into white fire, a nimbus floating around him. He looked at his arms, specifically at his right hand, and moved it closer to his face to get a better look. Ren was also leaning forward, he noticed, eyes narrowed. What Jaune found almost made him try to take a step back from his own arm. Somehow, between the night before and waking this morning, his aura had swollen - it was actually visibly larger.

Not by much – but when you've already crossed the 'Impossible' line, the word 'little' tends to lose meaning. "What in Monty's name...?" he muttered, as he went to ask Ren. Just as he did though, his mind picked up on something his eyes hadn't, drawing his attention back to his arm. It took a moment, but Jaune realised what he was looking at. His aura was gradually _shrinking_ , and as he watched for another ten seconds or so, it reached its usual levels...and stopped.

Jaune looked up from his arm slowly to meet Ren's eyes, which were just as shocked as his own. "You just saw that, didn't you?" asked the blonde, who found that he was shaking slightly.

"Yes...but I'm not really sure what I just saw." Ren admitted, shaking his head. "I've never even heard of something like this...but it does fit with the weird sensation I was getting earlier." He paused, and Jaune gave him an imploring look. "Well...okay. I'll start at the beginning. You see Jaune, a person's aura generally extends a couple of inches beyond their skin – this is its natural state, and most people accept that it is also it _only_ state.". Pink eyes checked blue momentarily, to see if he was following.

"What _I_ was taught, however," Ren continued, "is that an aura can actually extend to several feet in diameter. When this is done, the aura takes on a mist-like form and mingles with the air. It can register things like other auras or the complete lack of aura that means a Grimm, and alert us. That's what causes the sensation most people associate with being watched.". Ren seemed uncomfortable talking about it - Jaune idly wondered if this was meant to be a secret that Ren was sharing with him. If so, he wouldn't have thought that Ren trusted him enough to tell him yet. The martial artist was continuing, though.

"Anyone whose aura has been unlocked does this from time to time, unknowingly. Hence the reason that they don't _always_ know that they're being watched – only sometimes. However, those of us with training can replicate the effect at will, and I always have it running to some degree or another." Ren had never talked about this during team JNPR's first run. Though, as he came to think about it, Jaune had never really asked about his friend's unusual skill set.

"Anyway, after you wandered in here, I got this really weird feeling. It was like when another aura moves through mine, but..." here Ren seemed to run out of words, he gesticulated wildly with his hands, as if reaching for a way to explain. He got it after a moment, and he turned back to Jaune. "It was aura unbound; it wasn't attached to a person or animal...it was just _there_ , and it was flowing. Past me and the others, and straight toward you.".

Jaune swallowed. Going off that explanation, he finally caught up with Ren's reasoning. "So, you're telling me that I, somehow, pulled aura from... _somewhere_...into my own?" Ren's eyes were completely serious as he nodded.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. And while I may not have heard about anything exactly like this, I can tell you this much: just as having too little aura can impact your physical condition, having too much can cause problems as well. It's a theory that's been floating around forever that, were a person's aura to be forcibly expanded to a much greater capacity, it could place a major strain on the aura's source – the person's soul."

 _ **"Apparently, my pulling you out of the cycle of life and death has twisted your soul a bit."**_. Monty's words echoed through Jaune's mind.

"So whatever I'm doing is dangerous then?" Ren held out his hand, wiggling it from side to side.

"Yes and no. Yes in that if you push your aura too far, the repercussions for your body and soul could definitely be fatal. No in that, according to what I know, the kind of aura capacity you'd need to reach to do that kind of damage would go above and beyond anything that's ever been recorded. To do that, you'd probably need to actually be _trying_ to achieve that kind of result."

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief, but only a small one. He didn't actually know if he could control this new-found ability, but if it took that much aura to cause problems, then maybe he'd be able to shut it off in time should it activate again. "Of course, what you've got there is actually a really useful power." Ren commented.

"Despite the fact that it can kill me?" questioned Jaune, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah; if you can increase the power of your aura like that, you could become basically unstoppable in combat. You'd heal most injuries in moments, assuming anything could actually hurt you through your defences." Unstoppable...that was a word which Jaune had never associated with himself. He liked the sound of it, however - unstoppable would be a useful adjective for dealing with the times to come.

"Of course, that's assuming we can teach you to control your ability. Or that it doesn't have some in-built limit." Bubble sufficiently popped, Jaune sighed, nodding.

"All right. Are you saying you'll teach me to use it?" Jaune's team-mate nodded.

"I'll do my best. Since that Nikos girl is such an accomplished warrior, I'll ask for her assistance as well. She'll doubtless have some useful information." Ren clapped his hand on Jaune's shoulder a couple more times, then headed back into the main room.

"Now come on. We've been talking for ages, the others will be waiting." Jaune waited alone for a moment, considering his hand. A new power, eh? This was probably his Semblance. _Discovered in under 24 hours? That's got to be a new record._ Chuckling, Jaune looked in the mirror once again. The blonde figure which looked back at him didn't seem so taunting any more. He smiled, and walked out the door to see his team.

Pyrrha and Nora were already in their uniforms; size-and-gender-appropriate uniforms had been hung in the walk-in-wardrobes, and Jaune returned Pyrrha's earlier wave with a smile before heading into the one he and Ren had claimed, putting on the uniform which was ready for him. Walking out, he surveyed team JNPR. His team. His friends. His family. Pyrrha gave him a reassuring smile. Nora beamed as she almost always did. Ren gave him a nod and a grin.

Jaune smiled even wider. _Yes_ , he thought, _with them at my side, I can do this._ Then, as he picked up his scroll from the chest of drawers where he'd placed it the night before, he registered that he hadn't unpacked yet. In reaching for his bag's zip, his grip failed, allowing the scroll to fall to the floor. It activated, sliding apart to reveal the screen. As Jaune bent to pick it up, he registered the time on it. 8:50.

"Oh crap!" he yelled, grabbing the device and hastily closing it as he shoved it into his pocket. He turned somewhat frantically to his team, who were looking at him in confusion. "Class is in ten minutes! Let's move people!" Jaune ran to the door and pulled it open, checking to make sure the others were following him before he took off. He heard the other door in the corridor open as they passed, and moments later a cry of "To class!" echoed from behind them.

With Team RWBY hot on their heels, Team JNPR sprinted through the now mostly empty dorm building and across the courtyard, heading for the school's main building. As he ran, Jaune laughed, pleasant memories swimming to the forefront of his mind. Monty might not have singled him out for any outstanding traits, but he had still picked him. Jaune might not have been the best warrior in his team, but Ozpin had chosen him to lead. He'd make them both proud; he'd save everyone this time.

Just so long as he didn't get detention for being late to class.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **So...bit of a cop-out? I'm going to make the assumption that you thought "yes", and address it. Jaune's a good guy, yes, and he's got a strategic mind as well...but there were other choices that would have been just as, if not more, effective. Like Ozpin or one of the other teachers; maybe General Ironwood. Hell, even Ruby was more involved in most of the events which led to Beacon's fall. But I wanted this story to be about Jaune, so after talking it over with Zenaku, I went with what seemed the most plausible reason for Jaune being chosen.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even a fraction as much as I enjoyed writing it. Leave any criticism or comments as a review, and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	9. Chapter 9, A Proffered Hand

By the time their first lesson with Professor Port was over, Jaune and, he was quite sure, his team, were most definitely aware that they had missed breakfast. The blonde was thankful that his team had apparently decided to stick around to take care of their leader instead of taking care of themselves, but he also felt guilty as hell.

Especially since even Nora, who was one of only about seven students in first year who actually enjoyed the Professor's classes, was flagging. Her head kept slipping forward, and he could hear low, intermittent gurgles coming from her direction. She perked up, however, as Professor Port's story came to a close, and a familiar voice cut across the room.

Weiss Schnee moved from her seat to a door set into the side of the room, which led into a space which was used as an armoury, supply closet and changing room. She emerged a minute later in her usual battle-dress and carrying Myrtenaster. Jaune tried to consider where she had been keeping them, or where they had to have come from...but with his restless sleep, lack of food, and the Professor's story (which he had heard at least three times before by his count), the effort of problem-solving was far beyond him. The heiress set herself at a fair distance from the box Professor Port had brought into class, staring at the red eyes glowing within.

Jaune watched the ensuing battle in silence. He was just awake enough to observe from the standpoint of a relatively experienced leader, and he couldn't help but sigh. Ruby had suggested an entirely viable strategy, yes, and had refrained from trying to micro-manage her teammate. That was her experience as a warrior shining through.

What also shone through, however, was her rather child-like disposition. Cheering on a friend was all well and good in a tournament setting or something similar, since not only did it bolster confidence in allies, it could engender all kinds of negative emotions in enemies, therefore encouraging them to make mistakes. But in a class like this, where the opponent was a Grimm, and the person being cheered on was...well, Weiss Schnee, it didn't really work. And when it was done during a time of particular focus (like, say, holding a raging Grimm at arm's length while it tried to kill you), it was distracting - and distractions in battle had consequences.

 _A piercing whistle cutting through the air, the sound of breaking glass...the sinking feeling you get when something has just gone very, very wrong..._

Jaune shook his head to dismiss the thoughts of the past. It was a non-factor now, and was best left out of consideration.

When Weiss had defeated the Boarbatusk, Professor Port soon dismissed the class. Jaune watched as Weiss stalked out of the room, Ruby hurrying after her, but Yang and Blake making their way to the dining hall for lunch. Jaune turned to look at his team. They were seated side-by-side, with Jaune on the end of the bench by the steps, then Pyrrha, Nora and Ren in that order.

"Come on guys, let's go and get some lunch." Nora went from half-asleep to fully engaged in a moment, and the blonde quickly moved off the seats to let Pyrrha get out of the girl's way. Once all four of them were free of the seats, they left the classroom and headed across the courtyard to the dining hall. Pushing open the doors, they moved to the serving area and piled their trays higher than usual to make up for the lack of breakfast.

Jaune scanned the hall, and almost immediately his eyes alighted upon a familiar mane of blonde hair. The warrior to whom the hair was attached looked up from her meal. Spotting him, and by extension his team, she began gesturing for them to join her and her partner, who was currently engrossed in a book.

A few seconds' maneuvering got team JNPR through the hall and into the four seats opposite Yang and Blake, who had saved seats for their other two team members when they arrived. "Hey guys. I guess I ought to thank you for keeping an eye on the time...or maybe not. That professor was kinda creepy."

Jaune couldn't help but nod, swallowing the more-or-less whole sandwich he had just devoured. "He's certainly got...character." he replied, though he could tell that beside him Pyrrha was contemplating a somewhat... _wider_ array of words which might have been used. His fellow blonde shoot Jaune a look out of the corner of her eye, leaning forward as she was to try and read the title of Blake's novel.

"Uh huh." was her only response, though the doubt present in the simple expression was almost tangible.

Jaune laughed uneasily. He knew for a fact that Professor Port would never make any moves on his students. In fact, Jaune knew that the Professor Port that most of Beacon were familiar with was more or less a mask - an entire personality that the veteran Huntsman employed for teaching. Of course, his female classmates didn't know that (and frankly he shouldn't either), so he didn't mention it.

Taking a large bite of an apple, Jaune felt himself coming back to life as the glucose made its way into his bloodstream. As he started thinking again, he quickly checked his scroll; their afternoon class was Oobleck, and then they had combat training in the evening. The same pattern that they had followed for almost their entire first year, barring exceptions for emergencies, absences, field trips and the like.

A creaking sound reached Jaune's ears, and he turned toward its source – Blake Belladonna was gripping her novel with enough strength for the cover to protest its treatment with the noise he was hearing. Her gaze was going over Jaune's shoulder, and he turned slightly. Team CRDL. Of course it was them, and if Jaune was right, then...yep, there she was.

Velvet Scarlatina was stuck sitting between Cardin and one of his cronies. Jaune realized that he had actually forgotten their names. Cardin and Co had left JNPR alone following the Forever Fall incident, abandoning all attempts to mess with them. In fact, he'd barely thought about them in months.

Now though, they were back in his sphere of interest. He knew that this was another moment where had to debate what to do. He had discovered in the run-up to the Vytal Festival that the rest of team CFVY tended to wake up sometime in the early afternoon, due to the fact that second-year Beacon students had parts of their schedule shifted into the night-time. Apparently it was meant to give them the ability to grab sleep as and when they needed. However Velvet was always up earlier, studying in the library.

So Jaune had two options. He could assume that the bullying was something which had changed Velvet for the better in the long run...or, before CRDL got settled into the idea that this was going to be a regular occurrence, he could...

Do what he was already doing. Without noticing, he'd already stood up from the table, and he felt his feet carrying him toward Cardin Winchester.

* * *

Cardin Winchester thought his day was going well. He'd been appointed team leader of CRDL just the night before, becoming fast friends with Russel, Dove and Sky. Now all he needed to do was secure a reputation as someone not to mess with. It had always been his way - by establishing a reputation, his team earned themselves a place in the spotlight. It might not be a favourable light, but it still brought attention to them. And the more attention they got, the better their chances of getting ahead.

He'd quickly identified a Faunus as their first target. They suffered from discrimination so often that they rarely fought back, and a lot of the time people didn't want to bother coming to their aid. So he and his followers had crowded her in, and he was running through his list of offensive terms and slander, watching with a professional eye as the girl with rabbit ears seemed to fold in on herself more and more.

Things were going well when Dove tapped him on the shoulder, distracting him. "Uh, Cardin?".

"What?" he snapped, turning around. He immediately saw 'what'. A blonde figure was walking slowly toward him. That would normally not worry Cardin at all - someone coming to the aid of a target would serve as a good example to others, bolstering the reputation early on. Except...where the blonde walked, no one else did. It was as if the crowd simply parted to let him move. Even worse was that the man's hair had fallen over his eyes; all he could see of his expression was a small smile.

That smile was absolutely terrifying.

But if Cardin buckled, his reputation would be ruined before it was even fully formed. _Calm down. The kid's a head shorter than you, doesn't look that tough. Even if he's some kind of tactician, we got this._ Fixing his oft-used 'pissed' expression on his face, the titanic youth brought himself to his full height and moved forward to engage the blonde. He opened his mouth to ask what the hell he was doing...

And that was as far as he got before something broke his nose.

* * *

Jaune watched thoughts run through the darker blue eyes of his opponent. He was obviously unsettled, but forcing himself to work through it. Apparently through with his mental pep-talk, the lummox went straight for the intimidation tactics. Full height, slight lean forward, face like he'd stepped in something nasty. Mouth opening to deliver some kind of warning or question.

Jaune waited until his mouth was fully...and then he _moved_. Though he had learned almost all of his combat skills from Pyrrha, she had once brought Ren in one their training, since she thought Jaune could use an alternative for when no weapon was handy. Ren had taught him just that - a strike which was intended to be used on a human opponent when they thought you were disarmed and helpless. It was sudden, extremely violent, and could incapacitate an adversary instantly.

Jaune had practiced the technique until Ren told him it was good enough. 'Good enough' from Ren was roughly the equivalent of a diploma, particularly when it came to combat. So when Jaune put the entire force of body and every available muscle behind his middle knuckle and drove it into Cardin Winchester's face, his nose broke instantly, despite his aura.

The move wasn't complete though. His fist still buried in Cardin's face, Jaune launched himself forward in an arcing motion, propelling the larger boy over onto his back, and driving his head into the floor. Winchester's aura absorbed most of that blow - the striking area was too large for it to do much damage. But it got his head ringing, a distraction on top of the pain explosion a broken nose caused.

His hands flew to his face, already vacated by Jaune's fist, and he let out the loudest noise he could currently make...which amounted to a gurgled whimper. Jaune looked up at the rest of team CRDL, and spoke clearly to what was now a silent hall. "I don't know if discrimination against Faunus is a normal thing where you come from, and I don't care. In Monty's name, I will lay waste to each and every one of you if I even see a hint of this happening again." His point made, Jaune began to walk over to Velvet. The spell broken, RDL rushed over to their leader, carrying him over their shoulders as they made for the infirmary.

The faunus girl was watching him carefully as he approached, and Jaune stopped well outside her personal space. "You all right there?" he asked, keeping his hands open at his sides and maintaining eye contact.

"...Yes. Yes, I'm fine, thank you." The girl was soft-spoken, and her eyes turned away from Jaune's. The blonde gestured behind him.

"I understand if you don't want to, but I don't suppose I can offer you a seat at our table?" The girl turned back to him, scanning his face. Jaune just let it show how he was feeling; hopefulness, worry, and receding anger. Apparently that was enough for Cardin's would-be target, and she nodded as she stood.

Jaune extended a hand to her. "Jaune Arc, at your service."

The girl stared at his hand for a moment, before hesitantly clutching it in her own. "Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina. Thank you, Jaune." Jaune grinned, letting Velvet have her hand back as he lead her back to the table where Ruby and Weiss had apparently returned.

He offered her his seat, and she settled into it. Jaune turned to head out of the hall, but was hailed by Yang before he could leave. "Hey, Jaune, where are you going? You just going to leave your damsel to her own devices?" Jaune turned back, one eyebrow raised.

"That 'damsel', Yang, is a second year. She would whoop my ass, Cardin's ass, and probably your ass too. I'm hoping she'll keep you out of trouble." Yang's eyes widened slightly; she wasn't used to people playing her game.

"You think so little of me, Jaune? That hurts, it really does." To reinforce her point, Yang placed her left hand melodramatically over her heart, putting the back of her right hand to her forehead and leaning backwards.

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much." countered Jaune, smirking. "But yeah, I have to go. Goodwitch will be here soon, and I can probably do damage control if I go to meet her. I'll see you guys later if she doesn't kill me." Jaune moved off toward the doors, hearing Yang, Ruby, Nora and Pyrrha offering their own variations on "Good luck."

Jaune pushed the hall doors open, walking out into the sunlight. A quick scan revealed Glynda Goodwitch striding across the courtyard in his direction. A member of team CRDL was with her. Taking a deep breath, Jaune moved to meet with the teacher, and thus they were face to face in only a few seconds. Professor Goodwitch gave Jaune an inscrutable look.

"Well Mr Arc, you aren't the fastest troublemaker in the school's history, but you were admirably close. Mr Lark here tells me that you assaulted Cardin Winchester for no reason, breaking his nose and issuing a threat against his entire team as well?" Jaune waved his hand back and forth.

"Almost entirely true Professor. I did in fact break Winchester's nose, and though I felt I was issuing a warning to his team, I suppose it was a threat at that." The professor raised her eyebrows.

"I notice that you have deliberately failed to mention one of the points I mentioned. Shall I take it then that you did in fact have a reason for assaulting another student?"

Jaune nodded. "Yes, Professor Goodwitch. I assaulted Cardin Winchester because he and his team were verbally abusing Velvet Scarlatina due to her being a Faunus. I took exception to their actions, and sought to remedy them." Jaune pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "You can ask her yourself if you want; she's sitting with the rest of my team, as well as team RWBY. All of whom will tell you what I just did."

Goodwitch frowned slightly, leaning a bit to the side in order to look into the hall. The Huntress's eyes quickly found Scarlatina's distinctive ears, which were in fact seated next to the other seven members of the group which Jaune had been part of during initiation. She turned back to Jaune, examining his face with eyes that had faced down hundreds of Grimm, criminals, guilty students and the veritable Rubik's Cube of a man that was Headmaster Ozpin.

A good man in the making, with the kind of resolve that you can bend steel around. There was something else behind the gentle nature, though; something dark and foreboding, that she had seen in many others like Jaune. It was what separated the great warriors from the legends.

A great warrior built his life around something he had to protect, and drew strength from it. Legends were those who had that and lost it, and then quietly stood up again and said "No more." And when they spoke, the universe itself seemed to listen. The huntress wondered what could possibly have happened to the young blonde for him to have already attained that inner strength...she would have to do some digging into Jaune Arc.

Jaune held still as the Professor leaned down slightly, staring into his eyes. He knew that she could read him like an open book, so he didn't even try to be deceitful – he just prayed that she would decide he was telling the truth. A moment passed, and Goodwitch straightened. "I see. Of course, I'll have to speak with all your teammates individually, but I believe I understand the situation now. Discrimination against other students, in particular because of race, is a betrayal of Beacon's very spirit, and shall be dealt with accordingly. Next time, however, please refrain from delivering such retribution yourself, Mr Arc - we teachers are more than capable of dealing with these situations. Return to your meal, Mr Arc. Oh, and do tell your compatriots that I will be calling on them in the days to come."

Jaune nodded. "I will, Professor Goodwitch. Thank you." With that, Jaune turned back to the hall and headed inside, letting his shoulders slump with relief.

When he returned to the table, he found that Velvet had relocated to sit beside Ruby, allowing Jaune to regain his place at the table. He picked up his apple and took another large bite out of it, sighing around the fruit. He looked up to find eight pairs of curious eyes looking back at him. "So? How went things with tall, blonde and terrifying out there?" asked Yang, leaning over the table a bit.

Ruby did the same, continuing the line of questioning with "Yeah, are you gonna be all right?" Jaune smiled back at them, angling himself so that he was facing everyone at once.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be fine. I told Professor Goodwitch what happened, and she took me at my word. Oh, but she did say that you guys will need to talk to her about what happened as well." Everyone but Weiss seemed to nod in acknowledgement of this fact, simply accepting it as necessary. The Schnee heiress, however, sighed explosively.

"Really? We've been here less than two days and already I'm going to end up talking with a teacher about something I wasn't even involved in. Nicely done, Arc.". Jaune might have been long-rid of the crush he'd once had on Weiss, but that still stung. He bit back his reply, going instead for an apology.

"Sorry Weiss. It was unfair of me to drag you into this...but I felt it was necessary if Velvet was going to be safe from those idiots."

"And how is her safety any of our business?" asked Weiss, and Jaune realised that he may have made a mistake. "You said it yourself Arc; she's a second year, and someone we hadn't even met before today." Jaune had to admit that, from a logical standpoint, she was basically correct. However, he also knew that Weiss didn't trust Faunus very much.

She wasn't anywhere near as bad as Cardin, but since most of her experiences with Remnant's other sentient species stemmed from the White Fang, she wasn't particularly fond of them. Jaune knew that Blake would change that with time...but for now, perhaps associating with Velvet would be a step in the right direction.

His meal was finished, and he was still riding a little high from the confrontation with Cardin, so the blonde decided to burn off some energy. Jaune got to his feet, picking up his tray as he went. "Well, I'm done. I think I'll take a walk before classes start again. See you later, guys."

Jaune moved across the room to place his tray on the pile at the end of the serving area, then headed out of the hall. He stood in the sunshine and turned his face to the light, just breathing. Moments later he was joined by Pyrrha, who had followed him. "A walk sounds good. Mind if I join you?"

Jaune turned to her, and felt his spirits rise just seeing her. "Not at all."

The partners strode forward, and Jaune managed to put Weiss' attitude out of his head. She would change, he knew, with time and friendship. For now, he would simply be content with Velvet having a trouble-free semester stretching ahead of her, and having Pyrrha by his side.

* * *

Back in the hall, Ren sat deep in thought. Jaune hadn't seemed to notice, and nor had any of the others...but when he'd struck Cardin, Ren had experienced the same sensation as earlier that morning. That meant that Jaune's ability was being activated either by his emotional state, or whenever his body registered a need for a defense. Either way, Ren knew, he had to start teaching Jaune the finer points of aura control, and soon.

The words of Ren's old master came back to him. _There is no weapon more dangerous than the one you carry into battle with you. If you do not treat it with the fear and respect it is due, it is not your weapon at all – it is the enemy's._

Another, even stranger fact, was that Ren recognised that move. It was a medium-level technique employed in his own martial arts style...he'd learned it in his third year. _The precision required for that strike, and the knowledge of your body, is something that only comes with training. Yet Jaune seems to have barely any physical conditioning..._ He certainly wasn't a disciple of Ren's style. It had only one teacher, who had only ever taken one student. Yet the blonde had flawlessly executed the attack...it was incredibly strange.

He'd have to keep a closer eye on his leader.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Okay, this marks the beginning of an area where very little is documented by the show; as far as I've been able to discover, there is a several week gap between The Badge and the Burden and Jaunedice, so I'm basically free to do whatever I want with that time.**

 **Also, we just reached 1,500 views. In a WEEK. That's a pretty incredible number for me, and so are the 17 follows that have been so generously given. Thank you, everyone, for the support – thanks especially to garoorar and tennisdesi91 for the positive reviews, and dragoon109 for feeding me ideas and information. You guys rock!**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave any criticism or comments as a review, and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	10. Chapter 10, Cloak and Mirror

Jaune checked his bag one more time: basic medical supplies, a canteen of water, several vials of miscellaneous dust and his scroll. Satisfied that he was prepared, Jaune pulled the bag over his shoulders before donning a black cloak. So flatly packed was his backpack that the fabric barely bulged, meaning it could keep doing its job and break up Jaune's outline.

With the hood pulled up and a new moon, Jaune's face was completely hidden by shadows. With this get-up, he was completely anonymous...highly suspicious, but anonymous. Crocea Mors had been carefully wrapped in a light cloth. It would smother the sounds of clinking metal, but be torn easily by the shield's deployment.

Everything was ready for tonight's expedition.

Breathing carefully and quietly, Jaune slipped past Ren's sleeping form and into the hotel corridor. Glancing left and right, he found that he was utterly alone. It was about eleven o'clock; mostly everyone was in bed, and he had the next five hours to himself. It was about time Jaune dealt with the problem he could solve most immediately - Torchwick and his White Fang associates.

A week had passed since initiation. During that time, Jaune had sparred with Pyrrha nightly, and had basically picked up where his training had left off. Ren had also been coaching him in the use of his aura, though that was going more slowly - while Jaune had become much better at guaging his own aura levels, and had even begun to make progress imitating Ren's wide-area aura technique, he was no closer to consciously controlling his newfound Semblance.

Or at least, what he thought was his Semblance. That was still unclear...what was clear, however, was that Torchwick's operation was in full swing. Three Dust stores had been robbed in the last seven days, and law enforcement was 'baffled'. Jaune knew that, if he could locate the criminal's base, he could drop the wrath of Beacon Academy and the Vale Police Department on them like Magnhild's older brother.

So, he had suggested to his team that they spend the Friday evening and Saturday of this week in Vale, where they could shop for supplies and weapon upgrades, as well as spend time together in a somewhat more relaxed setting. Jaune legitimately wanted this to happen - after all, though they had spent most of the past week in each other's company, Ren and Pyrrha still hadn't progressed to the point where they could work in complete tandem.

Nora had, of course, managed to ingratiate herself with the red haired warrior in the span of a day. No surprises there. However, Ren's stoic and quiet nature required a dedicated effort to get through, and Pyrrha's unwillingness to come over as pushy to someone she'd be fighting alongside for years to come made it unlikely that she would make that jump on her own. So, Jaune had (with some advice from Nora) decided to make the relaxed weekend trip to the city a reality...while in the back of his mind, schemes and plots unfurled slowly, taking root and reaching for the light of fruition.

It had come to a head tonight. In the morning, Jaune would be taking his team around the town, and hopefully establishing the connection between Ren and Pyrrha which would truly bring team JNPR together as a unit. For now, however, he was taking a leaf out of Blake's book, and taking to the shadows. Moving along the corridor with light steps, Jaune took his leave through a carefully opened window. He'd noted as they approached the hotel that the building directly opposite this window was in poor condition, and the wall had a large number of missing bricks.

Jaune was sure that he could make the jump from the building's third floor to the hotel's second, which was where his team were currently sleeping, which offered him a method of return. He was slightly less sure that he could clear the jump from this window to the handholds on the wall, though. Gathering his courage, and muttering a quick prayer, Jaune pushed off the window sill and sailed to the wall, his hands slotting perfectly into his targeted holds and his feet terminating his remaining momentum. After that it was simply a matter of moving from handhold to handhold on the way down, until his feet touched the ground and he could move ahead with his plan.

* * *

The most logical assumption was that Torchwick was established in a place which wasn't frequented by the police, or Vale's more scrupulous citizens. So, Jaune wandered the back alleys of the city's warehouse district, eyes and ears stretched to their fullest as he searched for...something. The issue there was that Jaune had no idea how large Torchwick's operation would be, or even if anyone would be occupying the base at the moment. Even assuming they were, they might simply be too smart to allow any evidence of their location to escape into the outside world.

So, Jaune would have to be smarter. Deciding to try a new angle of approach, Jaune examined the alleyway in which he currently stood, and soon found a side-street which had been sealed off with a wall. Moving toward it, Jaune pushed off the corner where the perpendicular walls met, giving him enough height to grab onto the wall's top with his left hand. Attaching his right as well, Jaune hauled himself up, quickly moving to stand beneath the eaves of one of the buildings sandwiching the wall, keeping his balance with utmost care while he worked out his next move.

Tilting his head back, he examined the roof's lip. Jaune shuffled forward slowly, until he was just out from under the eaves. Gathering his legs beneath him and desperately trusting his training to keep him from falling, Jaune leapt, and managed to get his forearms onto the building's roof. A moment's scuffling and exertion had him standing atop the structure, and he moved across the sloped tiles to the raised line which denoted the building's centre. From there, he stood tall, and examined the expanse of identical buildings before him.

None of them showed even the slightest glimmer of life. No lights at all. Squinting, as if that would suddenly reveal some as-yet undiscovered clue, Jaune kept scanning...but there was no sign of clandestine criminal operations. He sighed, admitting that he'd probably need more than the ability to get on a roof to uncover a major underground network. However, since he was up here, perhaps he could make the most of the situation.

The blonde eyed his surroundings, noting the distance between buildings and the width of the street. He hesitated for a moment as his better judgement wrestled with the sudden desire to sprint across the rooftops. Though the battle was bloody, a compromise was achieved - Jaune moved at a careful pace across the tiles, keeping quiet and minding where he put his feet. He worked like that for hours, stopping every few buildings to strain his senses and examine his current area more closely.

He found absolutely nothing. Disheartened, team JNPR's leader slumped, taking a seat on the tiling of his latest platform.

Pulling his right arm free of his backpack, he retrieved his scroll. It was now three in the morning. Time to head back to the hotel. Sighing, Jaune replaced the device, then resettled his backpack as he stood. He examined the skyline around him, getting his bearings, then headed back in the direction of the hotel. This trip had been a failure, true, but at least he had established that they, in all likelihood, weren't here. That was something.

* * *

Neopolitan watched from behind an illusion as the black-cloaked figure moved away across the roof tops, her hands crossed and resting on her umbrella. She'd been standing there since before the cloaked figure had reached the rooftops, after one of their White Fang sentries had made them aware of a highly suspicious individual in the warehouse district.

Her illusion had made the warehouse seem to be the twin of the one next door, utterly removing the possibility of discovery. It was, perhaps, paranoid to believe that their more mundane security measures would fall to a single person...but paranoia ran rampant in the criminal underworld, and Roman Torchwick was no more immune to it than any other.

He'd given Neo explicit instructions not to kill them, whoever they were. They could be police or, even worse, a Huntsman or Huntress. Killing one of them would expose Neo and, by extension, Roman and their operation, to an unacceptable degree of risk - it would bring their ilk from all over Remnant to Vale in search of revenge. That was the last thing they needed. So, pink and brown eyes kept a steady gaze on the retreating cloak until it vanished below the skyline. The illusion fell away after another minute. The White Fang needed to be able to make their way back, after all.

Still, Neo almost wished that, whoever the figure had been, they had managed to breach the illusion. She hadn't had a decent fight in a long time, and she was getting _bored_.

* * *

Jaune was back at the hotel half an hour later, having returned via the side streets which had led him away. He climbed up the wall using mostly the same handholds he remembered from hours previous, until he was able to stand atop his...what, probably fiftieth rooftop of the night? He was beginning to tire; it was just as well that this was his last exertion of the night...well, morning.

Gathering his legs beneath him, Jaune sprang into the open air, arms extended forward. His hands caught the window sill, the glass pane still left open from his exit, and once again his feet stopped him from swinging full-on into the wall. Jaune pulled himself into the hotel, landing on the carpeted corridor with a soft thump, and closed the window behind him. He pulled off the cloak, shaking his head at the sensation of finally being freed of the hood.

He moved over to the room where he and Ren were sleeping that night, and gently slipped the room key he'd been keeping around his wrist into the lock, moving inside with a minimum of noise. He wrapped the backpack containing his supplies in the cloak and stuffed it into his bag, moving mostly by touch in the darkness, and then re-donned the plain t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms which had become his nightwear. Finally ready for bed, Jaune slipped between the sheets and went out like a light.

* * *

A minute passed, and Ren's eyes opened. He had been woken first by what his team leader obviously thought were surreptitious movements as he dressed and left the room hours earlier. The key turning in the lock when Jaune made his entrance had woken him for the second time, and Ren had tracked his leader's movements around the room using his aura and hearing.

Once he was sure that the blonde was fully asleep, he stood silently, and made his way over to Jaune's bag. A moment's feeling was all it took to find the backpack within, and a quick finger-tip analysis of the contents revealed what Ren recognised as a rather versatile kit. It could have been used for quite a few different purposes. Of course, the hour at which the operation was taking place, and the dark fabric Jaune had donned, reduced the possibilities somewhat.

Either his leader had been moonlighting as a criminal (and Ren dismissed that idea as soon as it appeared. Judging character was a survival skill for him, and he knew that didn't fit with Jaune at all), or he had been scouting. Of course, Ren had to wonder what he could possibly be searching for...

He shrugged to himself in the dark as he returned the cloak and backpack to their original wrapped state, placing it carefully back in the bag. Everyone was entitled to their secrets, and everyone had their own personal missions. He wasn't going to throw stones at that glass house.

He was back to sleep in moments.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **This one ended up a little short; I've come to the realisation that the following day, which was originally going to flesh out this one, is a chapter in and of itself, and if I try to attach it to this one, the final product will probably be the longest chapter to date – a challenge which I currently lack the time to take up. Instead, as I've said, the day's events will be their own chapter.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave it as a review. Enjoy your day!**


	11. Chapter 11, A Heartfelt Revolution

The morning came far too early for Jaune. He had managed to get back into the hotel at around half three in the morning, and so his sleep had been limited to about four and a half hours. He once again thanked his luck for having deep aura reserves - dealing with the aches and pains of a night of espionage wouldn't have improved his situation at all.

He yawned mightily as he sat up. Light streamed between the room's curtains, lighting on the two single beds with chests of drawers at their ends. A door to the side of the room housed a shower and bathroom, and also ended the list of the room's features. The hotel was a far cry from Beacon's lustre, but it was close to the shopping district and it was affordable, so that was that. Jaune swung his legs out of bed, registering that Ren was also stirring, and tried to remember what had woken him up...

 _"It's morning! It's morning! It's morning~!"_. Ah yes. The single greatest nemesis to sleep since the discovery of caffeine.

"Good morning to you, too, Nora." called Jaune, who had managed to retrieve a towel and change of clothes from his bag, careful not to disturb the black-wrapped bundle therein, and was heading for a morning shower. He normally showered in the evenings, but he could hardly walk around with his team carrying the detritus of a night spent roof-hopping.

He could hear Nora and Ren talking around the door-frame as he returned to the glorious land of cleanliness, and he walked out of the bathroom fully dressed, rubbing his hair to get rid of the remaining moisture. Ren had apparently been dressed for a while, and since Jaune was decent, he opened the door to admit his partner.

While Nora made sure that Ren was really, _really_ awake, Jaune tied the laces on his trainers, swallowing another yawn. He'd gone with a simple set of jeans, a white t-shirt emblazoned with his family crest on the back, and a black zip-up hoodie. Crocea Mors hung from its place at his belt; Beacon students were given licenses which stated the legality of the weapons they carried, so even Nora carrying Magnhild around town was fairly normal by Vale standards. He rescued Ren from Nora's attempts to elevate him to an entirely new plane of 'awake' by offering the incentive of breakfast, and moved out of the room.

Ren locked it behind them, and Jaune registered that there was no sign of Pyrrha. The duo found her down in the hotel's dining area, recently joined by Nora, having apparently decided to grab them a table in case it became more difficult later on. As the team's male contingent took their seats, a waitress moved over to them, scroll waiting to take their drink orders. Four calls of "Coffee!" with various degrees of enthusiasm and longing sent her on her way, leaving the four team mates to sit in silence.

Jaune made the decision to break that silence, looking around at his team. "So, the day is ours until the last Bullhead back to Beacon, which is at eight o'clock. Twelve hours in Vale, guys. What do you want to do first?" The silence continued a moment longer, until Pyrrha answered.

"I was thinking we could drop by Tukson's Book Trade. The latest in a series I've been reading just came out, and according to my scroll, the store has a great history of keeping its stock up to date." Jaune nodded happily, relieved that it wasn't up to him to suggest the entire day's events.

"Alright, Tukson's Book Trade, sounds good. So, Ren, is there anywhere _you_ want to go?"

The martial artist, who had been scanning the table's menu, turned to face the blonde. "Hmm. Well, I don't know the town very well...but I have heard good things about a supplies store on the main street. It's supposed to carry a pretty wide variety of weapon modifications, tools, special ammo and the like." That made two places to visit. Jaune turned to look at Nora, who was holding her chin in her hand, eyes closed in a classic thinking posture.

Jaune awaited her decision in silence. Seconds passed, until Nora's brow creased and her eyes flew upon in typical 'EUREKA!' fashion. "Oh, I have a great idea! Let's go to the arcade!" Jaune blinked; he hadn't even known Vale had an arcade.

"Alright then; Tukson's Book Trade, the supplies trader on main street, and the arcade. Sounds like a day." Nods of agreement came from around the table, and the coffee arrived with great timing. Orders were placed for breakfast, and as the coffee burned through the sleep-fog that Jaune, Ren and, to a lesser degree, Pyrrha were feeling, the conversation became much more animated. Ren and Pyrrha still weren't speaking to each other as often or as fluently as they did with Jaune and Nora...but Jaune thought that the change of setting was helping. _I guess time will tell_ , he thought to himself.

* * *

With the team fed, they made their way out into the city, the sun shining bright above them as the pavements bustled with life and people. JNPR moved through it toward the main street, which was home to the Book Trade as well as Ren's mystery weapon supply store. Pyrrha had apparently thought to memorise the Book Trade's position in the town, as she led them in their journey. She looked good today; the sunlight turned her hair into a coursing river of fire, and sporting a blouse and jeans along similar lines to Jaune's ensemble, she looked much more relaxed than in her uniform or battle-dress.

Though Miló was slung across her back, Akoúo̱ had been deemed too bulky to carry for a trip around town, and had thus been left at Beacon. Ren had stuck to his usual clothing, Stormflower up his sleeves, while Nora was wearing a skirt and blouse which was markedly similar to her usual hunting garb. Magnhild hung in its hammer form across her back, attracting curious glances as they moved down the street.

Jaune realised that he had been staring at his partner instead of where he was actually going, and he hurriedly transferred his gaze to the path in front of them...though he couldn't help but sneak glances at her. It was strange. He had always seen Pyrrha as beautiful – but it wasn't until he started thinking about her as more than a friend that the fact really seemed to drive itself home. _Apparently_ , Jaune thought to himself, _not even I can explain my own stupidity. What a surprise_. He sighed to himself, but made sure to keep up with the others, even as he shot snarky comments at himself.

The book store came into view a minute later, and the group entered en-mass. It was quiet in there; the four of them were apparently the only customers at the moment. Jaune cast an eye around the room. Waist-high shelving units were scattered around, and full-sized shelves took up the entirety of the right and left hand walls. The wall directly in front of them hosted a counter and an open door, through which emanated the sound of rustling paper.

Pyrrha headed toward the counter, presumably in search of the owner, while Jaune broke off to examine the titles available – Ren and Nora were doing the same, although it was also possible that Nora was simply tailing Ren for...Nora reasons. He wasn't going to try and understand her reasoning. Down that way lay madness.

Jaune ran a finger across several spines on the higher shelves. Titles like _Dust Through the Ages_ , _The History of Faunus Rights_ and _The Evolution of Aura_ informed him that the section he was currently browsing was largely historical, and he moved across the room to see if there was something more in-line with his tastes. He heard Pyrrha speaking and turned to the counter. The man behind it was massive; taller than Jaune and a good bit wider too, he was like a living wall. _That must be Tuksen,_ Jaune surmised, keeping the corner of his eye on the counter out of habit, even as he pulled a book from the shelf to examine it.

His partner spoke to the proprietor for a few moments, and then the man nodded, moving back through the doorway which had admitted him. Pyrrha saw Jaune looking and gave him a quick thumbs-up, to which Jaune replied with a smile and a gesture of his own. He returned his attention to the book in his hands. _Through the Fire and Flames: The Legend of Remnant's Greatest Swordsman_ was emblazoned in gold on the leather cover, which he now realised exhibited the classic signs of old age.

Intrigued, Jaune flipped the book open. Reading the first few pages, he realised that what he held was basically collated memoirs, pulled together into a coherent story. It was told from the perspective of a travelling companion who spent his days with a master swordsman, documenting his journey and his own training at the hand of the master.

Jaune flipped the book over, checking the back cover. Its price tag became evident, and he was surprised at the easily affordable value. He took the book over to the counter, where Pyrrha had just finished paying for a book which Tuksen would appear to have retrieved – presumably the one she had originally come from.

Jaune's partner stood off to the side and began to read the back even as the blonde himself held up the book to the towering figure over the counter. He took it from Jaune carefully, checked the price tag, and handed it back. "That'll be about 200 lien." Jaune laid the requisite amount on the counter, having used the short time between Pyrrha's purchase and his own to retrieve it from his wallet. The shop owner placed the money in the till, then nodded to the blonde, who moved out of the way. Ren and Nora were just behind him; the martial artist appeared to have found several books to his liking, while Nora had apparently found comics somewhere.

Through some light searching, Jaune discovered a receptacle full of plastic bags. "Excuse me, can we use these?" he called to the man-mountain currently serving his team mates. He glanced up toward Jaune for a moment, checking to see what he was referring to, and then turned back to checking the price tags on Ren's books.

"Yeah, go ahead." Jaune took three of them, handing one to Pyrrha and one to Ren whilst sliding his own book into the bag he had procured for himself.

* * *

The team congregated in the middle of the store before making their way to the door, calling their thanks to Tuksen as they went. Once they were back in the street, the team's collective attention fell to Ren. Nora's partner began scanning the length of the street in front of them. "I can't quite remember the name of the place...it's on this street somewhere, I know that much for sure. I'm going to say it's further on in this direction."

Ren moved off, much as Pyrrha had before, and the other three fell in line. As his dark haired friend swept his eyes across the store-fronts they were passing, Jaune turned to his partner. "So then Pyrrha, I take it he had the book you wanted?" The red head turned to him and smiled.

"Yes, yes he did."

"Well, that's good." Jaune subjected himself to an internal face-palm. _That must be a new record for quickest awkward silence._ He sighed quietly, and came to a decision.

He fell back a bit from Ren and Nora; a quizzical Pyrrha remained in step with him, as Jaune gathered his thoughts. "Alright...Pyrrha? Do you mind if I ask you about something?" His partner seemed even more intrigued as she shook her head.

"Not at all Jaune; what do you want to know?" Deep breath in, hold for a moment, exhale slowly.

"Well, I was just wondering why you and Ren don't seem to get along very well." It was out in the open now. Perhaps if he'd had Ren's experience or skill, he could have worked it out for himself, but Jaune had always been fond of the direct approach to most situations. He kept his eyes on his partner; he could tell that she was cycling through several emotions, but he wasn't sure which ones. He at least knew the one she settled on - resolution.

"I shouldn't be surprised that you noticed...well, it's tricky to explain." She paused to breath in and out, in much the same manner that Jaune had moments earlier. That was hardly unusual; she had taught him that particular exercise, after all. "Jaune, you remember that Weiss mentioned Sanctum and the Mistral Regional Tournament when we first met?"

The blonde nodded, and his partner continued. "Well, Sanctum is somewhat different from combat schools like Signal. The focus there is more on combat with other Huntsmen and Huntresses, rather than Grimm." That was news to Jaune. He hadn't attended a combat school himself, which greatly reduced his knowledge of them, but Pyrrha's description didn't quite fit with his mental image of the places. He turned the thought over in his mind as his partner continued.

"My victories in the Tournament were due in no small part to the amount of human-on-human combat that Sanctum teaches. It's also one of the reasons I tend to stand out at Beacon. Skilled as I might be, others in our year have the potential to be truly terrifying opponents if their training took that direction.".

Jaune sincerely doubted that the gap between Pyrrha and the rest of their year would be closed quite that easily, but since she obviously wasn't finished, he pushed that particular remark out of his head for use another day. "That kind of training tends to shape some aspects of a person's character. For me, I ended up with something of a competitive streak. I can't help but try and be the best - it's egotistical, but I just can't stand to be second to anyone in combat.". _Yup,_ Jaune thought, _complete dedication to being the best it's possible to be. That's a major character flaw, right there._

"I saw almost every variety of quirk that being a tournament fighter can bring out in a person during my time in Sanctum, which is why I can recognise that Ren is like me. Someone whose training was for dealing with people, not monsters." Jaune drew the parallels at that point, and didn't need Pyrrha to finish.

"I think I get it now. Because both of you have a competitive streak, you can't help but see the other as competition, instead of a team mate, right?" The red head nodded.

"Indeed. I know that it isn't good for our team as a whole, but I just can't help it."

Jaune sighed to himself. Why hadn't this come up before? Hadn't JNPR always gotten along just fine? Maybe the two of them had cleared it up on their own without Jaune noticing before, or perhaps he had simply been too obtuse to realise that two of his closest friends thought of each other as a hurdle to be overcome. Well, one way or another, he knew the issue he was facing now. That meant he should be able to do something about it. But how to forge a friendship between two people whose relationship lacked most of the foundations a friendship was built on...

Jaune's musings were caught short by a victorious "Hah!" and a delighted "Oh, yes!" from ahead, and he focussed on Ren and Nora as he came to a halt. The four of them were now standing outside a fairly large store front, the frosting in the glass spelling out that this was _The Hunter's Workshop_ , and outlined the store's products as being Dust, weapons, weapon supplies, weapon accessories and ammunition.

* * *

"If I don't tell Ruby about this, and she finds out later, she will most definitely kill me." the blonde remarked as they pushed open the door. Looking around, he found what could only be described as heaven for weapon lovers. Every wall was hung with dozens of weapons, some multi-form, some simplistic, some ranged, some melee; between these masterpieces were racks of ammunition, ranging from simple ballistics to Dust rounds, and various equipment for taking care of the weapons. Whetstones, weapon solvent, machine oil, cloths, every variety of nut, washer, screw and bolt under the sun (or so it seemed to Jaune), screwdrivers, wrenches...this place would probably serve any mechanic in the city just as well as it would a huntsman.

One wall had noticeably less weapon paraphernalia than the others, if only because there had to be a counter _somewhere_. On the note of mechanics, behind said counter stood a woman in the typical engineering garb of oil-soaked overalls, replete with burn marks. The face to whom the overalls belonged was lightly tanned, and touches of soot were dotted around bored brown eyes. "Good afternoon, welcome to The Hunter's Workshop, the number one location for all things weapon related. How may I help you?"

The woman might not have been smoking, but with how languidly she spoke, Jaune could easily imagine a cigarette hanging from her lips as she spoke. "We're in town for the day from Beacon. My friend Ren here" Jaune laid a hand on said team mate's shoulder for context "found the store online, and we thought we'd swing by to check it out."

There was a moment's pause...then suddenly the woman scrambled from around the corner, moving much closer to the group. "Wait, you're all Beacon students?" The sudden change in attitude was jarring; the bored eyes were suddenly alight with excitement, and Jaune couldn't help but take a step back in the face of the mania burning there.

"Um, yes..." he replied slowly

"Oh, this is perfect! You wouldn't _believe_ the number of people who only come in here for the mechanical supplies - sure it keeps me in business, but there's no _challenge,_ there's no _fun!_ But Beacon students? Oh, you guys always have such interesting weapons, and so many ideas – and I get four of you at once! Oh it must be my lucky day!"

Almost oblivious to the group who were the cause of her elation, the woman practically vibrated on the spot in excitement. Her auburn ponytail swayed behind her head, and Jaune idly wondered if this was going to end any time soon. He got his answer as the frantic energy suddenly ceased, and the woman coughed quietly into her fist.

"Anyway, I should introduce myself. My name's Venti." The rest of team JNPR introduced themselves, Ren's name having already been given. "Now then," Venti continued, moving back behind her counter, "how about you guys have a look around and tell me if you see anything you like, or if you have an idea for a weapon you want to run by me."

Ren and Nora split apart; the hammer-wielding huntress started running her fingers over a selection of Dust grenade rounds on display, whilst Ren seemed to be admiring a trigger assembly that seemed about the right size for Stormflower. Pyrrha was browsing through a wide selection of weapon-care equipment, including solvents and oils which might replace her own slightly dwindling supply. Having a transforming weapon offered great versatility in combat, and even when she was accustomed to it, it was pretty awesome - but it needed a lot of attention to ensure that the mechanisms stayed smooth.

Jaune, on the other hand, moved up to Venti's counter, unsheathing Crocea Mors' blade as he went. Holding it with one hand under the hilt and the other supporting the blade, he laid it on the wooden surface in front of her. A seasoned eye swept along the blade, noting the expertly maintained edge, the simple yet elegant craftsmanship, and obvious age.

"This is quite the piece you got here; one that has a long history to it, I would imagine?" Jaune nodded, laying his fingers on the blade's hilt again.

"Yes, it's been in my family for as long as I've been able to trace our records. And it's an awesome weapon...but I haven't been able to find anything about it which would earn the reputation it has in the history books. I was wondering if you could take a look at it, see if I'm missing something." This was something that had bothered Jaune a bit. In his time before going to Beacon, he had spent quite a lot of time in his family's quite extensive library, reading about the battles of his ancestors. Crocea Mors appeared in quite a lot of those stories, reaching back much further than just his great grandfather.

The weapon known as Crocea Mors had always been a sword and shield combination, but the only piece which had remained constant throughout the years was the sword. The shield had evolved and been upgraded over time, becoming the unfolding defence Jaune was familiar with during the Great War. But the sword had never once been replaced; in fact, in what Jaune felt sure was more than two centuries of family history, there was no mention of it ever being broken or lost, or of it failing in battle. He didn't really understand why. After all, it was a simple blade. True, he didn't have to take care of the edge very often...or, in fact, at all...but apart from that rather odd trait, it had never appeared as anything more than an antique with a deadly edge to it.

Venti gently ran her fingers along the blade, having first removed the oil and grease from her hands with a tissue from a box she always kept under the counter, right next to her self-defence piece (it had been three days in the making, and she affectionately named it 'Sakura Morningstar'. Her husband preferred to call it overkill.).

Her expert digits, despite the callouses born from hours practising her trade, found minute etches along the blade's length. Tracing them, she found that they led in straight lines down the blade, passing into the blade's hilt. A sneaking suspicion dawned, and holding the blade in both hands, Venti closed her eyes and started slowly applying pressure to the hilt in various ways; twisting the handle's grip, pressing down on the cross guard, feeling for any lack of resistance.

It took a minute, but she finally felt something begin to give when she tried twisting the top and bottom of the hilt in opposite directions. She immediately stopped, opening her eyes and holding the weapon out to Jaune hilt-first. "Okay, there's definitely something abnormal about your weapon there. I can feel some kind of etching on the blade, and it doesn't feel like battle damage; it's too regular. Also, when I tried twisting the hilt in different directions, there was some give - I bet that there's some aspect of that weapon which is triggered by manipulating the hilt like that. As awesome as it undoubtedly is, I'd like to ask that you not try it right in the middle of my highly explosive and not-insured-enough store."

The blonde nodded, awed that this woman had, in the space of under five minutes, figured out something about his weapon that he had been missing for more than a year. "How much do I owe you?" he asked, as he re-sheathed his sword. Venti thought about it for a moment.

"Well, since you're students, I'll keep it low. For a quick appraisal like that? 500 Lien, max." Jaune nodded, retrieving his wallet and the stated sum.

A few minutes and some exchanged Lien later, team JNPR left the store with backward waves and promises to return, emerging onto the pavement with various weapon modifications and munitions in hand. Jaune checked his scroll again. Midday, more or less. He looked back to his team. "So, who's up for lunch?" Three replies in the affirmative prompted Jaune to examine the area, his eyes lighting on a restaurant across the street.

With a gesture to follow, Jaune led the way.

* * *

One round of lunches later, Jaune examined his team as they sat around the table. Roughly seven hours of their trip remained - everyone seemed quite bright and chipper, especially compared to Jaune himself, who could feel the looming weight of the sleep he'd missed the night before. He glanced from Pyrrha to Ren, trying to gauge the situation with them.

He couldn't see any real difference between now and that morning, not that he'd really expected it. After all, though they had so far spent a good five straight hours in each others' company, they hadn't really done much in the way of interacting with each other...disregarding Jaune and Pyrrha's earlier conversation, that was.

No, Jaune needed to make their next stop count – his best chance to bridge the gap between Pyrrha and Ren was the arcade.

After the team had finished their respective coffees and paid for their meals, leaving their waitress a generous tip, they headed out once again. This time, however, they followed along behind Nora, who was probably approaching critical mass thanks to the mix of caffeine and video games in the near future. She somehow kept them moving in the right direction, while simultaneously moving back and forth to talk with Pyrrha and Ren. _Only Nora could lead a group of people from behind them..._ Jaune thought wryly, shaking his head a bit.

They reached the arcade after about ten minutes, and stood in a line to examine it. It was a long, low building, with most of the outer wall facing the street being made of glass to reveal the games within. Nora almost blurred as she moved to the door, and Jaune worried for a moment that she might rip it off its hinges instead of opening it. Thankfully it would appear that today was going to be uneventful in regards to property damage, as she simply pulled it open and moved inside. The rest of the team followed at a somewhat more sedate pace, and scanned the room like a trio of owls once they had done so.

Games. Games upon games upon games stretched away into the building. Some of them were tall machines with joysticks and buttons, others held plastic firearms, still more offered the chance to release some pent-up aggression through the age old tradition of beating up machinery, and a few even catered to the sportier types with throwing games.

Jaune wondered what he would go on first, and heard a hearty laugh split the air as Nora slid a few coins into a Whack-a-Grimm machine. Shuddering slightly in sympathy for the poor technology which didn't know the horrors that awaited it, Jaune moved on to the next row of machines, finding one titled _Atlas One vs Space-Grimm_. Recalling a certain conversation in the dining hall a week earlier, Jaune found his interest piqued.

He inserted a few cents, and laid his left hand on the two buttons as his right took hold of the joystick. The screen flashed into life, revealing a pixelated ship and a rolling backdrop of space. A countdown from three began, and as soon as it reached zero, enemies flooded the screen in front of Jaune's ship. The sudden onslaught caught him unaware, and though they tried valiantly, the crew of the _Atlas One_ met their fiery demise at the hands of what Jaune thought was a Nevermore wearing a fish bowl on its head. Frowning slightly, Jaune slid more coins into the machine and leaned forward.

He was a huntsman in training with a year's worth of reflex training; he was Jaune Arc, son of Cornelius Arc, son of Jebediah Arc, son of Ronan Arc; he was Pyrrha Nikos' sparring partner. How hard could a video game be in comparison to that?

* * *

Apparently, a video game could be really freaking difficult. Jaune panted slightly as he wiped sweat from his brow. He'd lasted ten minutes into the game that time before succumbing to fatigue, as his fingers could no longer tap fast enough to keep the screen clear enough for flight. Deciding that he'd probably give himself a heart attack if he kept on like this (which would actually be an impressive feat for someone with an aura pool as large as his), Jaune moved away from his nemesis of the past - he checked his scroll – four hours, apparently. He didn't know where all that time had gone...though he suspected it was to the same empty void which had swallowed all of his change.

He started to do a circuit of the arcade in search of his team.

He found Nora had moved on to almost the last Whack-a-Grimm machine in the line, and a quick glance at the other machines showed that, once again, Nora's prodigious ability to hammer things into oblivion had reached new heights; the machines' score counters were stuck on "9999". She was gleefully laying into the rising Ursa figures with what appeared to be a hammer in the shape of another Ursa, her ever-present grin manic in its intensity.

Shuddering slightly, Jaune decided that she was probably not in need of companionship right now, and he slowly backed away around the corner. He found Pyrrha in the shoot-em-up area. She was currently in the middle of teaching the computer the true definition of 'defeat', as every target was destroyed with pin-point accuracy.

The corner of the screen told Jaune that his partner had been on this particular machine for the past twenty minutes...and that whoever designed these games hadn't accounted for the kind of skill level presented by Pyrrha Nikos, the evidence for this being another maxed-out score counter. He reached out and gently tapped her on the shoulder in an attempt not to startle her. It didn't quite work as planned, she spun on the spot, still holding the plastic pistol, and proceeded to point it in Jaune's direction and pull the trigger multiple times.

Her eyes seemed strangely glazed over, and Jaune shifted from amused to mildly panicked. "Pyrrha? Pyrrha, can you hear me?" He moved over to his partner and waved his right hand in front of her eyes while delicately retrieving the game controller from her right hand with his left, then taking it in his own. After a moment, he thought she seemed to be getting back into focus, so he took a step back.

His partner blinked a few times, then turned to look at him. "Jaune? Oh. Um...oh Monty this is embarrassing..." Pyrrha's face was turning as red as her hair, and she shuffled in place. Seeking to put her at ease, Jaune tried changing the atmosphere a bit.

"So...I take it you're really into video games?" He got a stifled giggle in reply, and his partner turned back to him in a slightly more composed state.

"I suppose that's one way of looking at it. You remember I told you about my training being largely about dealing with other Huntsmen and Huntresses? Well, Sanctum had a simulator room that was like a more advanced version of this, which is where I learned a lot of my shooting. I guess I kind of slipped into old habits."

Jaune couldn't help but laugh, and after a moment, Pyrrha joined in. "Pyrrha, I swear one day I will find something that you can't do to perfection. Even if you're perfect at it the next day, Monty as my witness, I will find something."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge, Jaune?"

Jaune did his best to imitate her action. "I don't know, miss Nikos; _is_ it a challenge?"

The two ended up looking each other in the eye, each within arm's reach of the other. It took Jaune a moment to become cognisant of that fact, but as soon as he did, he felt a blush rushing toward his face as he took a step back. His movement seemed to jar Pyrrha out of the moment as well, and she took a similar step back.

"Um. Well. Anyway, how about we go and find Ren?" suggested Jaune, putting on his best jovial tone. From the look on Pyrrha's face, though, he might have come across a little bit insane.

"Yes. Yes, let's go find Ren." Jaune moved first, continuing on his circuitous route in search of his friend. The red-haired warrior followed along beside him and, as they rounded the next bend, they found that Nora had finally conquered the last vestige of the arcade's resistance. She was happily mumbling something about being "the queen of the hammer castle", but she fell into step with Jaune and Pyrrha as they went by.

As it turned out, Ren was tucked well into the back of the room, and his hand was resting on the rail of a machine which Jaune didn't recognise for a moment. However, scattered childhood memories finally offered up an exact match. "Is that...a DDR machine?!" asked Jaune and Pyrrha, at almost exactly the same time. Apparently startled out of whatever state of mind he had been occupying, the martial artist turned to see that his team mates had apparently discovered him.

"Yes, it is." he replied. For some reason, Ren seemed hesitant to step up onto the platform. Jaune moved forward, also running a hand along the rail. "I didn't know these things were still around...does it still work, I wonder?" he asked aloud, and Nora moved forward, presenting him with a handful of cents. He in turn slotted several of them into the machine, and the familiar lights began to dance beneath its floor.

DDR machines, named for the game they were designed to host (Dance Dance Remnant), had been a major part of gaming culture for several years, Jaune recalled. However, they had faded out of style, and the few of them which still existed were supposedly held by private collectors...except, apparently, this one. As the menu prompted the player to choose a song, a flash of inspiration struck Jaune. He took a step back, placing him just behind both Pyrrha and Ren. He then placed a hand on each of their backs, and pushed forward just enough to get them on to the game's dance floor. "How about you guys have a go at this? I mean, since you're the most agile here.". The two turned to look at him. Pyrrha looked somewhere between pleased, nervous and determined. Ren was completely unreadable though.

The machine registered the two players, and Pyrrha selected one of the classics: YMCA, a hit single from one of the more... _media-friendly_ Huntsman teams to graduate from Beacon, had been a part of popular culture since before Jaune's generation, and thus its place on the DDR had been cemented. As the familiar music ratcheted up, Ren was still standing completely still. Jaune thought for a moment that this was going to be a one-sided battle...until it came to make the first moves.

Pyrrha was good. Excellent even, as her natural sense of rhythm and graceful movements landed largely perfect scores with a few 'great!'s. Ren, though...Ren was a demon. A DDR demon. He never put a foot out of place, he was never even a microsecond off the beat - his every movement was inarguably flawless.

The song went on for two minutes, and the two dancers came to a halt; both were breathing hard, as one of the DDR's attractions was how its dances gained speed and complexity the better you were doing. The screen revealed the scores. Player 1, Pyrrha, had hit 97% of the moves...Ren had reached a seemingly impossible 100% score, and had reportedly been hitting three steps a second.

Jaune and Pyrrha both stared at him in disbelief, but Nora was frowning slightly. "Renny, you've gotten slow. I told you to keep up your practice, didn't I?"

Jaune turned his head to look at Ren's partner. "Slow?" he managed to ask quietly. Nora nodded.

"Yeah; back in his prime, Ren could manage something like seven steps a second."

Jaune wasn't sure how to process that input, so he decided that he'd take a seat leaning against a nearby _Huntsman x Huntsman_ machine. Pyrrha had the opposite reaction however. A smile spread across her face as she turned to face Ren with renewed vigour.

"Another match, Ren? Unless, of course, you're too tired?" Pink eyes flashed beneath darker hair as Ren assumed his full height, like some strange plant unfurling under sunlight.

"Tired? Oh, I'm just getting started, Pyrrha." Jaune's ears perked up. Pyrrha? Up until now, Ren had generally only referred to her as 'that Nikos girl' or similarly indirect phrases. He smiled to himself as more cents made their way into the machine, and a new song started to play. _I guess my sisters were right about the power of dance_ , he mused, as the rapid-fire tapping began once again.

* * *

By the time Ren and Pyrrha were forced to admit defeat in the face of overwhelming exhaustion, the sun was making its final descent on the horizon. Jaune had been keeping an eye on his scroll. "We have forty minutes until the Bullhead leaves. Come on, we can rest at the station." He got to his feet and accompanied Pyrrha as she made her way toward the entrance, taking reserved steps on her aching feet.

Jaune was carrying her bag, containing the cleaning supplies and book she had purchased earlier, alongside his own. Nora did the same for her partner, and together the four of them made their slow way to the Vale Airport. The Bullhead would be arriving in about ten minutes, so Jaune left his team resting on a bench as he went and purchased some drinks for them. He eyed his wallet's contents before returning it to his pockets. He'd had to turn a pretty decent part of his budget for that month into change to finance Pyrrha and Ren's dance-off, but seeing the two of them sitting side by side in such a relaxed manner, he felt it was worth every penny.

He returned to his team, distributing icy cold waters to uniform delight. This part of the station was open to the air, and the four watched the sun paint the sky a burned orange as a companionable silence settled over them. Jaune tilted his drink back to finish it, and even though the previous night's mission had failed, he still felt that this trip had been well worth it.

 _Team JNPR is back in business,_ he thought to himself. As the Bullhead came into view, and the four friends stood to make their way over, Jaune yawned massively, stretching his arm out. He felt something against his side, and as his eyes opened he realised that he had ended up standing directly next to Pyrrha. His arm was now stretched at a diagonal to her shoulders, as if positioned to drape itself there.

He froze instantly, realising that his partner had as well. They stayed like that for a moment, then Jaune carefully lowered his arm to his side. He found that he didn't really want to move, though. Apparently his partner didn't either, as she simply stood there with him for a moment longer.

"We...we should probably get on the Bullhead. Need to study for that test on Monday, after all." Jaune spoke, though it was reluctantly.

"Yes...yes, of course, we should go." They stayed for just a moment longer, before the partners strode forward together, moving apart just enough to let their arms swing as they headed back to their transport and, a few minutes later, home.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Oooooh myyyyy goooooood, that's a new record for chapter length set. Well, I have to admit that this was not what I expected to happen when I started writing a weekend in Vale for JNPR. How is it that I managed to get more out of this than the entire Emerald Forest arc? We may never know. At first writing, this chapter identified the store owner as Coco's mother...since my editor-in-chief and my own far more wakeful mind have been beating me up over that particular idea, it has been revised. OCs, now that I think about it, need to be used sparingly.**

 **The idea for the DDR scene came from this a comic by** **AtsusaKaneytza, so thanks to them for creating that so I can draw inspiration from *cough* steal *cough* your joke.**

 **I hope you've enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I've enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism then please leave it as a review, and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	12. Chapter 12, Handle with Care

Miló and Crocea Mors glittered in artificial light, almost seeming to split photons on their edges as they danced, coming together and moving apart in a flurry that required an expert eye to track. The onslaught of back-and-forth attacks stopped after a few moments, Jaune and Pyrrha both moving back to the defensive. They circled each other slowly, each formulating new plans of attack and defense during the lull.

It didn't even last ten seconds; taking the initiative, Jaune led with an obviously feinted stab, then turned it into an actual attack. Pyrrha, who had moved to defend her other side, managed to spin and put Akoúo̱ between the blade and herself. She still felt the impact from the strike, but it was worth the chance to force the blade away from herself and create an opening in Jaune's defenses. With his blade and right arm at least a second's travel from his torso, Jaune was left with his shield to defend himself.

As Pyrrha pushed off hard in a committed stab that would most likely prove too focussed to shield against, Jaune allowed his left leg to collapse under him, changing his position just enough to let him get his shield into position to intercept the slash which Pyrrha's attack became. His sword arm was back into his stance, and the blonde took advantage of his kneeling position to launch himself forward, his shield raised as a battering ram. Pyrrha jumped back out of the attack's reach, and Jaune pushed the attack to try and exacerbate the minor flaw in stance that accompanied such a maneuver.

He let loose with a scattered barrage of stabs, all of which missed by centimetres, and he realised that Pyrrha's use of her Semblance to negate his attack had allowed her to regroup. Now he was back on the defensive as he was subjected to a much more accurately aimed, much more quickly delivered string of attacks that he struggled to block. He tried to create a counter-measure, but a sudden rush from Pyrrha ended with Akoúo̱ crashing into his shield, exploiting his slightly flawed stance from trying to escape his partner's attack.

He went over backwards, and though he tried to his shield over his torso and throat to defend against the incoming attack, Miló was pointed directly at his face before he could manage. He sighed, allowing his arms and Crocea Mors to slump onto the floor. His admission of defeat clear, Pyrrha immediately replaced Miló with a proffered hand, which Jaune clutched as she helped him stand again.

"That was a good match Jaune; you're improving at an impressive rate." Jaune cheered a little at the praise, though his gloomy mood was still in evidence.

"Thanks, Pyrrha. Your training me means a lot; I don't know what I would have done without you." _Well that's not entirely true_ , Jaune thought to himself, _I've experienced a world without Pyrrha. It would probably be better to say that I don't want to think about what I'd do without her._

His red-haired partner clapped a hand on Jaune's shoulder in her usual display of camaraderie, smiling widely. "It's a pleasure to teach you Jaune." Jaune returned the smile, though a part of his mind couldn't help but read more into the simple phrase. That part of his mind was beginning to be a problem; it might have been made evident to him that Pyrrha thought of him as...more than a friend, at least by the time they had been parted, but it didn't really seem to have sunk in yet. _I mean, come on; even in combat, she still distracts me sometimes. If she was feeling like this all year, how did she get through our training so well?_

Pyrrha let his shoulder go with one last squeeze, moving away from the raised arena they had been practicing in. Beacon had plenty of training rooms and firing ranges for use by its students, and tonight Team JNPR were making use of this one. Ren and Nora had been watching their team mates' duel from a bench set against the wall; Ren had been making note of corrections both needed to make to their fighting style (though he rarely found any from Pyrrha, and he was fairly certain that most of Jaune's flaws were down to the torch he carried for his partner), while Nora had simply gone along to admire the action and cheer happily as her friends swung edged weapons at each other repeatedly.

As Pyrrha left the arena, Ren stood, taking a couple of water bottles with him. He moved toward Jaune, passing by the red-haired warrior and handing her a bottled water on the way. A nod of thanks was evident before she moved out of his peripheral vision, and once he reached the raised area, he handed the other bottle to Jaune. "Thanks, Ren." muttered the blonde, as he immediately uncapped the bottle and took a long pull from it. Swallowing, he let out a sigh of contentment, before quickly finishing the remaining liquid. Re-hydrated, he joined Ren, who was now sitting cross-legged in the centre of the arena.

"Alright Jaune, let's pick up from where we left off last night." JNPR's leader nodded, and closed his eyes.

From the bench, Nora and Pyrrha watched the two in silence. This part of Jaune's training lay outside of the physical realm, and thus Pyrrha knew that she couldn't give him the skills he needed to control his ability. He and Ren had explained Jaune's power together, once the classes of their first day had finished. Since then, whenever the team had enough of their homework done to spend an evening in the training rooms, Ren had been working on teaching Jaune the basics of using his aura like he did.

* * *

"Aura," Ren had said, "is a force generated by a soul; it's tied to the very fundamentals of what makes people alive. As such, it runs almost entirely on instinct, and barely interacts with conscious thought." He had been seated in front of Jaune in much the same manner as he was that night, and having spread his arms, his magenta aura had flickered into life around him.

"The majority of Hunters and Huntresses simply think of it as a last line of defense. The equivalent of a suit of armour. However...". At this point, Ren had extended his right hand in front of him, clenching it into a fist. Jaune and Pyrrha had watched in amazement as, after a moment, his aura seemed to dip across most of his body, but around his fist, it swelled until it was at least twice as deep. "There is a style of martial arts, unique to my homeland, which centres around the conscious manipulation of that force."

Ren's aura stayed as it was for a few moments longer, before the glow around his fist returned to its normal levels, the rest of his body balancing out as well. "Now, Jaune." he began as he turned to his leader, "since whatever it is that you're doing seems to be triggered by stress or emotion at the moment, it's my aim to train you until your aura is entirely under your control. Once your power is dictated by conscious thought rather than irrational outbursts, it can be considered useful. Until then, it's a threat to you, so I need you to try and work with me."

Jaune had nodded, moving to sit in front of his friend. "Got it. So, how do we start?"

* * *

That had been two and a half weeks ago . Now, the class was preparing for a field trip the following day, which was why Jaune and Pyrrha had settled for only having one match that evening. They needed to be asleep at a proper time, so Ren had an hour with Jaune.

Both their auras flared into life. Jaune's was noticeably larger than Ren's, though its white colouration could make it difficult to accurately tell where it began and ended. As the two sat there, breathing slowly, Ren spoke quietly. "You've found the wellspring. You have drawn from it. Now you must shape it. Feel how it moves, how it shifts, and work with it; do not force it, simply give it a path to follow." Ren had been telling Jaune the same thing during their last seven sessions...however, it was considerably more difficult than he made it sound.

Though Jaune was capable of calling up his aura, he had never found the 'wellspring' that Ren referred to. Apparently, the first step of Ren's training was to find the point from which his aura emanated, but Jaune hadn't been able to manage it. This was, according to his teacher, impossible; the act of consciously manifesting one's aura could only be accomplished through one's knowledge of their wellspring.

Apparently.

Jaune wasn't sure about that, though. After all, he could most definitely manifest his aura, but he didn't feel like it was coming from any one point. He cursed his own unwillingness to train in aura with Pyrrha during their training sessions over the past year - he hadn't manifested his aura often enough for the sensation to be familiar or stick with him.

Since he was getting nowhere with this, he decided to voice an idea that he had been nurturing since their last session, which had been three days prior. "Ren, I was wondering. When Pyrrha unlocked my aura, she told me that there was something strange about it. She described it by saying it was more like a river than a lake. Do you think that means anything?" Jaune's eyes had opened to gauge his teacher's reaction, and he discovered that his friend seemed to be deep in thought.

"Hmm. A river, you say... Well, it gives me an idea at least." he muttered, theories spinning themselves anew in his mind. He decided to ignore the fact that his leader had just admitted to not having his aura unlocked when he made it to Beacon, and simply focus on the point he'd just raised. "Jaune, I want you to go back to focussing. However, don't turn your awareness inward - try moving outward, instead. See if that works." Ever so slightly perplexed, the blonde returned to the quiet state of mind that he used for this training, feeling his aura flare up again.

Following Ren's advice, he tried to expand the odd sense that came to him whenever he'd triggered his aura. Though he couldn't really tell how, he got the impression that it was working, as the sensation that came alongside an active aura grew stronger and stronger. Time was tricky when he was working with his aura; most of his attention was focussed inward, and minutes could pass like seconds. But Jaune didn't think it had been long before he felt something change.

It wasn't an easily understood difference, but he could recognise that if his aura was indeed a lake, he had found where the water came from. From this new perspective, Ren's instructions made perfect sense. His perception of his aura extended to his entire body, as if his sense of touch had suddenly become a hundred times more pronounced, and with this new awareness, directing the power he had found to his right hand was child's play.

Ren had been keeping watch over his leader while he concentrated, while Nora and Pyrrha talked quietly about what they might need for the next day's expedition. A quarter of an hour passed, and a gasp from the martial artist drew his teammates' eyes. The three watched in astonishment as Jaune's aura underwent a sudden change - it flowed like water from all across his body and gathered around his now extended right hand in the exact same fashion as Ren had demonstrated.

Jaune's eyes opened slowly, and regarded the white nimbus of flames that were packed so densely around his closed fist. He was managing to stay calm, maintaining the state of mind which he fell into during these exercises, and so sustaining the sensations which he had discovered. "Huh. That made it really easy." He looked up to Ren, to find that he was simply staring at Jaune's hand. "Uh, Ren? You okay there buddy?"

The sudden onset of emotion was enough to unbalance Jaune's calm, and his aura flowed back to normal even as his perceptions returned to normal. The dark haired boy's eyes rose slowly to meet Jaune's.

"Six months." he said quietly. His tone was incredibly calm. In fact, were a pool of quicksilver to be suspended in outer space, in a reality where gravity did not exist, it could not be more placid than Ren's voice. Jaune knew that tone very well - the last time he had heard it, Nora had managed to locate and attempt to utilise Ren's cooking equipment. It was the warning sign that Ren's normal composure had been stretched to its absolute limits, and an outburst was incoming.

"Six months?" repeated Jaune sheepishly; his mind raced, trying to figure out what the connection was between this new development and his friend's statement. He put the dots together even before Ren expounded on his statement.

"It took me six months from the time I first discovered my wellspring to when I managed to cause an active change in my aura. It took a further three months to perfect the art of directing my aura into a certain part of my body. Drawing evenly from all across my aura was an extra two months of work. In other words," he intoned slowly, rising to his feet, "for me, the basics of aura manipulation were a year of my life, split between physical exercises and exhaustive mental training. For you, Jaune, it was slightly over two weeks."

An internal debate raged behind Ren's eyes; his actions here would have consequences, he was sure of that. He certainly wasn't one to judge a man for his secrets and past, but this situation was straying so far from the norm that he felt justified in his concerns. Mind made up, he committed to his course of action. "Jaune, I'll level with you. I know that you've been keeping at least one big secret from us. I'd wager it isn't just from us either; whatever it is, you're keeping it from the staff as well."

The blonde began to panic immediately. His mind, trained through combat and theory to respond to bad situations with the best possible option, wasn't offering anything. Pyrrha and Nora were staring at them, obviously wondering where this was going. Jaune's brain threw out plan after plan, all of them immediately rejected as impossible and half-baked. With a twist in his gut, JNPR's leader realised that in this room, with his team and little to no chance of external interference, he had no way out. Ren had him bang to rights...and he wasn't finished speaking.

"You arrived at Beacon, one of Remnant's most prestigious institutions, without your aura being unlocked. You reacted to Nora's waking call like other people react to their alarm clocks, as if it was completely normal. You breezed through initiation, displaying knowledge of us that you claim you got from an information broker; I did some research of my own – there is no information broker with the connections to get hold of that information. My research also showed that you aren't registered in the graduating classes of any Vale-based combat schools, despite the Arc family having been in this kingdom since time began, as far as I can find - if you were going to a combat school, there's no reason for it not to be in this kingdom. Despite this apparent lack of training, you demonstrate the martial skill level I would expect from an advanced Beacon student, alongside the tactical thinking and combat knowledge. Yet, your physique doesn't match the kind of training you would have needed to undergo in the pursuit of that skill. And now this. You only learned about this technique weeks ago, and showed no signs of progress until tonight, when you suddenly seem to master it. And this is _on top_ of your incredibly unusual aura. _Nothing_ about you is normal, Jaune. I know you're a good guy, but if I'm going to follow you and trust Nora's safety to you for the next four years, I want some answers."

* * *

There were a lot of things Jaune could have said in response to his friend's words. He was reasonably sure of that. But right now, his brain didn't want to cooperate. Thinking was difficult, but as he tried to re-order his thoughts, a twisted smile formed on his lips. He'd thought he was clever. That all this time, he'd played off his strange match of overdeveloped skill set and underdeveloped body. Apparently he'd been failing from day one.

 _So what else is new?_ he thought. The blonde stood himself, swaying slightly as he regained his feet. He looked to the benches. Nora was looking on in concern, her eyes darting between the two young men, and Pyrrha seemed to be shuffling the emotional spectrum like a deck of cards. Jaune let out a sigh, almost feeling the weight of secrecy leave with it. Nothing more to hide...no need to pretend any more, no need to keep himself in check.

"Answers, Ren?" he asked quietly. The dark haired martial artist nodded. "Well, you saw right through me. Ask ahead. I mean, it's not like I can actually lie to you." He started to laugh quietly, and Ren began to frown. He opened his mouth to speak, but Jaune kept going.

"I mean, it's not like I can actually lie to anyone. I'm terrible at lying. In fact, I'm terrible at a lot of things - everything I try, I fail at. I failed at connecting with my father. I failed at getting into Beacon legitimately because I failed as a warrior, and because of that I failed as an Arc. I failed Yang, Weiss, Blake and Ruby. I failed you, Ren, and Nora, and myself. I failed Beacon and everyone in it...and I even failed Pyrrha.".

Jaune's voice was growing louder and louder as he went, and he was speaking faster and faster; Ren recognised what was happening and was already moving forward, but it was too little too late.

"I've failed at everything I have ever tried and I've failed everything I ever loved, so go ahead and ask your questions Ren, but I'll probably fail at answering them too, because that's all I know how to do! FAIL!". With that last exclamation, more of a scream, the last of Jaune's self-control shattered, and he simply fell over. He started to sob, pulling himself into a ball, and his aura, which he had so recently pulled closer to the surface of his mind, responded to his shattered psyche. Ren felt a massive flow of aura start to move past him, just like that day in JNPR's dorm and in the dining hall, but bigger.

Much bigger.

Jaune's aura exploded into life even as he lay on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Before Ren's eyes it began to grow exponentially, expanding at a terrifying rate. "Jaune! Jaune, you need to stop!" he yelled, even as he closed the distance between himself and his leader. He tried to put his hands on him, but Jaune's aura was so densely packed around his body that he couldn't even touch him. That didn't stop the black haired martial artist from bringing his fists down on the seemingly solid light repeatedly, trying in vain to break through.

"Jaune, you can't keep going like this! It could kill you!" he screamed, his own magenta aura flaring into life around his hands and spreading in ripples of light as he struck again and again. But even the force multiplying effect of the aural strikes wasn't enough to make a dent in Jaune's aura, the edge of which was now reaching the edge of the arena. _Monty dammit! His soul can't take this kind of strain!_ Ren cursed himself and the situation internally, redoubling his attempts to reach Jaune, to try and knock him out and stop the flow.

"Move aside, Ren." Jaune's best male friend turned to his side, and found himself staring up at red hair and a steely gaze. In the face of the pillar of calm that was Pyrrha Nikos, he obeyed, letting the warrior lay her hands gently on the solid plane of white light that was keeping her from her friend. "Jaune," she started quietly, her voice as tender as a mother speaking to her child, "can you hear me?"

The blonde curled up inches away from her hands started, his sobs dying off. "P-Pyrrha?"

"Yes, it's me Jaune. Your partner; you remember?" Jaune turned over, blue eyes floating in tears meeting bright green. "Jaune, I know that you're feeling bad right now...but I think you'll feel better if we can talk about it. Can we do that?"

A moment's silence ensued, then Jaune nodded slowly. "Yeah...I think I can do that." Ren watched in silence. As soon as Pyrrha's voice had reached Jaune, the flow of aura moving toward him had slowed dramatically. Now it had all but stopped - the edges of Jaune's aura just protruding over the edges of the circular arena.

"Then we'll talk. Do you want to come and sit with us, though? It can't be very comfortable down there." Pyrrha gestured to the arena floor where Jaune was currently lying.

"...I guess a seat would be nice." Jaune mumbled, climbing to his feet. Pyrrha kept her hand pressed against the solid surface that still surrounded Jaune.

"That's great Jaune. Do you think you could make this go away first, though?" Pyrrha patted the incredibly dense aura that still encircled Jaune's body, as if it were perfectly normal.

"I can do that..." nodded the blonde, as his eyes closed. Moments later, Ren witnessed the complete reverse of what he'd seen happen just moments earlier. As if a floodgate had been opened, or a strong wind had appeared, the massive extra aura reserves Jaune had drawn on melted away into the atmosphere with as little effort as they had arrived, leaving him back to normal in barely a minute. Pyrrha's hand now rested gently on his cheek, and she drew him into a hug.

The blonde began to cry again almost immediately...but it was quiet now. Almost silent, though tears still fell freely. The two were joined moments later by Nora, who silently wrapped her arms around the two of them. Ren joined them, walking forward and wrapping his arms around the two from the opposite direction. Even as he tried to silently comfort his friend, he couldn't help but grit his teeth at his own actions, resolving to do something - anything - to make up for what he'd done.

 _This is what happens when you stick your nose into things, you idiot. You could have worked on it slowly, getting him more comfortable over time until he told you himself...but no, you just had to have answers_ will _make up for this_. The four of them stood like that for a long time, until Jaune finally ran out of tears. He shifted slightly, leading Ren and Nora to step back slightly.

Pyrrha did so too, but she dropped her left hand to Jaune's right, maintaining contact and leading him to the nearest bench, where she sat. She gently maneuvered her partner until he was lying on the bench, his head resting in her lap, where she gently stroked his forehead. "You sleep now, Jaune. We'll talk when you wake up, but for now, just sleep." The blonde's eyes flickered, but he was too exhausted to do anything but obey, and the welcome darkness overcame him.

* * *

 _Since this was his third visit, Jaune recognised that he was back in Headcanon as soon as he opened his not-quite-eyes. Gone was the table and chair arrangement from his previous visit; instead, he now lay on the softest bed he'd ever felt, and Monty was sitting on the end of it._

 _ **"Jaune."** he greeted simply. Nodding his own greeting, Jaune went to sit up, but somehow Monty wasn't on the end of the bed anymore; he was gently holding the blonde in place. **"No, don't try to get up. You put some serious pressure on your soul back there, and I'm not taking the risk of you doing any more damage while you're here."**_

 _Jaune accepted that and stopped trying to rise. He recalled the events which had transpired before he fell asleep, and he felt himself shake slightly...but no more. **"Your partner did a really good job of getting you out of that breakdown. You're rid of the worst of it, though I'm afraid there's a ways to go. You're a resilient one, though; I don't doubt that you'll move past this."**_

 _Jaune laughed quietly. "You don't doubt me? I wish I could say the same." His tone was bitter, and he turned his head away from the god at his bedside. Of course, he was now exactly in Jaune's view._

 _**"No, Jaune, I don't doubt you. Did I choose you because you were convenient? Yes. Does that mean I don't believe you can do the job? Me no!"** He laid a hand on Jaune's shoulder and squeezed; a motion Jaune had always associated with Pyrrha, that helped him focus a little. **"Your entire life has been a series of coincidences and accidents, Jaune, but you've made the most of it. It's made you strong, and you should never forget that."**_

 _It was difficult to argue when the god you had been muttering prayers to all your life was trying to make you feel better, but Jaune made a spirited effort. "Well, not strong enough I guess. I mean look at what happened there; all it took was Ren pushing me a little, and I fell completely apart."_

 _Monty nodded. **"That's one way of looking at it. There's another perspective, of course. Consider what you went through before entering into this deal: you experienced the loss of your home, the death of your closest friend and the emotional and physical damage that all your other friends suffered, all in less than a day. It was even worse for you, of course, since one of the qualities that made you an effective leader was your empathy - you were too compassionate by far, and the pain they suffered made its way to you as well. You couldn't handle it properly and, in a last ditch effort to deal with that, you made your peace with death before trying to going out in a blaze of glory and end the pain."**_

 _Here the deity stopped for a moment, checking on his charge. Jaune was gripping the covers of the bed tightly in his fists, but he was holding it together. Monty continued, **"But instead of the peaceful end that you first sought, you volunteered to go back. To risk all that pain a second time around, for the slightest chance of making things right. You then began your mission, and lasted almost three weeks in the face of the kind of psychological pressure that would drive most anyone else insane. In fact, you only snapped when someone you think of as a close friend broke down the mental wall you'd built - you'd separated all your prior experiences from your current life, shutting them in a mental closet where you could draw on the facts but not the feelings behind them. But Ren reminded you that those experiences are still with you, and you were forced to deal with all the fallout from them at once."**_

 _Finally finished laying out the evidence for his point, Monty paused. Jaune was still holding onto the bedclothes, but his fists were more relaxed now. Time to for the final point. **"You endured a psychological torture the likes of which mankind was never designed to withstand, and likely would have continued to do so for quite some time if not for today. Be proud of yourself Jaune, because your friends and I are proud of you."**_

 _Having said his piece, the deity started to move away from the bed. Jaune watched him go, but he turned back toward him just before the void of Headcanon swallowed him whole. **"Ah yes, I thought you should know this. I've figured out what's happened to you in terms of your soul and aura."** He was back at the bedside now, instead of away in the distance - there was no delay or anything, it was just as if he'd been standing there the whole time. _

_**"Simply put, your aura is no longer generated by your soul; it's pulled from the environment, in the way that plants draw carbon dioxide for fuel. That means your aura capacity has the potential to outstrip any other, and it also means that you can channel the energy more naturally than those who generate their own. It's closer to the surface, so to speak. There's a downside though. If you pull too much, either on purpose or accidentally, then your soul won't be able to cope with it, and you could end up ruining your ability to channel aura...or worse. So don't do that again, okay? Don't make your team suffer like you suffered."** With those parting words, Monty left Jaune in the bed. The blonde lay there in the last few moments before he returned to sleep, and considered the meeting. _

_"Don't make them suffer like I suffered..."_

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Aaand that's a wrap. Apparently a certain reader was hoping for more JNPR bonding stuff...but I'm gonna go ahead and guess this isn't what that person had in mind xD  
**

 **Still, this is an important part of the story, and of the Jaune I'm building up. With everything that happened to Jaune, by all rights he should have been quivering jelly in an asylum somewhere, so my reasoning is that his mind sheltered him from the worst of it by creating a clear divide between his old life and his new one. However, Ren finally pushed him to connect the two, and he ended up dealing with it all at once instead of over a period of time that would have let him down gently. A mistake on Ren's part, but one that he couldn't possibly have predicted. So...hug it out?  
**

 **Well, anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, leave them as a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**

 **28.04.2016 : Made a few general edits, grammar/spelling/wording. Also added a few extra words here and there for better explanations or dialogue.**

 **P.S. I have a lot of ideas for this story (like possible semblances, references to other shows/media, alternate histories, etc.) that simply don't fit the theme or the piece's feel, and which my friend Zenaku Okami, who serves as my idea-wall, assures me will simply be too overpowered or separate from the canon. I don't want to scrap them, but I also don't want them locked up in my head; thus, I'm thinking that I'll start another story, this one of Omake re-writes and additions to certain chapters where I see an opportunity. I'd appreciate any thoughts on the matter, so please let me know what you think!**


	13. Chapter 13, Some Reassembly Required

When Jaune opened his eyes again, he was back in his body. A familiar white ceiling stretched above him, and turning his head showed the blonde the medical equipment lined up alongside the bed he occupied. _The infirmary._ Not really surprising - he hadn't exactly been in the best state. He was still dressed in his hunting garb, though his armour had been piled on a nearby chair, with Crocea Mors propped up against the same piece of furniture.

Swinging his legs out from over the bed, Jaune experimented with putting his weight onto them. They seemed steady, so he climbed to his feet. His vision began to spin almost immediately, and he was forced to press his hands against his face as his sense of balance tried to re-assert itself. It took what felt like minutes, with Jaune bracing himself against some kind of monitoring equipment, but eventually he could see straight.

As he went through the familiar ritual of donning his armour and weapon, he ran a mental checklist of his well-being. _Physically; throat feels raw, otherwise no pains, no signs of fatigue. Mentally; probably not a reliable judge at the moment, I'll just have to make do._ Jaune felt oddly sure that his checklist shouldn't be ending there, however. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was a general sense of something being... _off_.

He tried to find a feeling he could compare it to, but failed. _Maybe it's connected to my aura?_ he surmised, and he closed his eyes, focussing on manifesting the familiar white light. A searing line of pain flashed behind his eyes and echoed throughout his body in one massive throb, and Jaune felt the air leave his lungs at the sudden assault. He wheezed as he tried to regain his oxygen, only remaining standing by bracing his arms on the bed and chair. The pain had vanished as quickly as it had come, but Jaune resolved not to do _that_ again.

The curtains had been drawn around his bed, and the lack of light told him that the infirmary was most likely closed for the evening. That made it after ten o'clock. _The team must be worried..._ Jaune set off with that thought, passing through the curtain. Most of the infirmary's beds were empty, and there was no sign of anyone being awake.

 _Okay, probably early in the morning then._ the blonde decided, as he slowly walked over to the door. He pulled it open quietly, and slipped out into the corridor beyond. The infirmary was a part of the main building, and he walked the familiar corridors with a practiced ease until he got into the courtyard. Another few minutes' walking and he had reached the JNPR dorm room. Sliding his hand into his hoodie, Jaune was grateful to discover that his scroll was still there. Pressing it to the door panel, Jaune very slowly opened the door.

* * *

The room beyond was dark, the only light emanating from the doorway. That vanished quickly as Jaune closed the door behind him, moving slowly so as to ensure he didn't wake the others. He was so focussed on closing the door quietly, in fact, that when the lights suddenly clicked on, he jumped in shock. Turning around, Jaune found that his team were all, in fact, awake – and staring at him. He looked back, noting Nora's glistening eyes, Pyrrha's overtly anxious expression, and that Ren wasn't meeting his eyes.

The silence remained for a moment, before the blonde sighed. "Well, it's not going to be any better in the morning." He unbuckled his armour pieces, laying them down on his bed, before putting Crocea Mors down beside them. Taking a seat beside them, he faced his team.

"Jaune...are you okay to be out of the infirmary?" asked Pyrrha, whose eyes were roaming all across his face, looking for anything wrong. Jaune couldn't really bring himself to smile, so he just stuck to answering the question.

"I did a self-assessment. Apart from my mental state, which I'm apparently not fit to judge, my body is perfectly fine. My aura isn't on speaking terms with me, though." As he spoke, Nora got up from her bed and crossed the room in a flash, settling right beside Jaune and pulling him into a side-hug. Jaune leaned into her a little, the contact simultaneously stabilizing and rejuvenating him. This wasn't Nora flirting, this was her trying to help a friend, and it worked just as it always had. Ren nodded from his bed, his dark eyes still not meeting Jaune's.

"With how large your aura became, you must have really toed the line on doing yourself permanent harm. Your aura will probably not be combat-ready for a couple of days, so you should keep that in mind." The blonde nodded.

"Gotcha." He sighed again, slumping forward. A couple of days without aura and they were going to Forever Fall tomorrow, which he knew contained its fair share of Ursa. That could turn in to a real pain...

First, however, there was another kind of pain to deal with. Jaune pulled in a large breath, held it for a moment, and then began to speak. "What happened earlier...it obviously needs to be addressed. Ren was perfectly right to challenge me; the three of you are meant to rely on me as your leader for as long as our team lasts, but I was keeping things from you. I wouldn't have fully trusted me, so I just wanted you all to understand that you aren't at fault. I am, for hiding the truth and still trying to earn your trust. So I apologise for that." Jaune bowed his head as he spoke the words, until it was parallel to the floor. It was a gesture that Ren used from time to time, when something really big had happened and he wanted to punctuate it.

The martial artist finally looked up, and his dark eyes sought blue as the blonde also raised his head. "I think that, at best, we are both at fault. Even if I agree with you thinking you should have been more honest, I most certainly shouldn't have tried to force you in to exposing something so obviously personal to you, _especially_ after you demonstrated your good character time and again. So you may apologise to me, but you must accept my apology also." Ren bowed his head in the exact same manner as Jaune had, and the blonde recognised that the dark mood which his friend had been suffering under was at least partially lifted.

"Thank you, Ren. Since we managed to get that straightened out..." Jaune turned to Nora and gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Nora. How about you go back to your bed? I think I need to try and do this myself." Blue eyes met and searched his own for a moment, before the face in which they rested nodded. Nora retreated, not to her own bed, but to Ren's, where she sat shoulder-to-shoulder with him as Jaune gathered his thoughts.

His red-haired partner shifted a little, and he knew she was considering filling the place Nora had just left. He managed to summon another small smile for her as well, as reassurance, before he directed his attention to include JNPR's other half as well.

"Alright, here goes. I don't want there to be any more secrets, at least on my end, so I'll tell you what I've been hiding.". Jaune could feel his hands trembling. He was nervous - really nervous. It had only been three weeks...if the team couldn't accept his story, then this was going to be where everything fell apart. _Dammit Arc, get rid of those nerves! These are your friends, your family; you trusted them with your life time and again, so grow a pair and trust them with the truth!_

No more putting it off. The blonde took a deep breath and forged forward. "It's not like I've been lying to you about who I am...I really am Jaune Arc; but I'm not a first year Beacon student with forged transcripts and no training, like the me who you were meant to meet."

"You're a clone..." breathed Nora across the room.

Jaune blinked a few times, before the innocuous comment managed to bring a genuine smile to his face, and drew a chuckle from him that he hadn't been sure was still possible. "Oh, I wish Nora. No, I'm not a clone. I'm a...a..." The blonde really didn't want to say the words. It was all so ridiculous...but Monty dammit, he had to. "I'm from the future."

* * *

There. It was out in the open. Jaune slumped back on his bed, a long breath escaping his lips as he seemed to deflate. There was silence from the room in front of him, but the blonde leader didn't have the energy to sit up again. He waited for a small eternity while his teammates processed his admission, waiting on their next words. "That...actually makes a lot of sense, in context." Ren had broken the silence, speaking slowly as his mind raced faster and faster. "If you actually did undergo Beacon's training, then your skill is explained. If, as I must assume, you were our team leader before as well, then the fact that you knew us so well from the beginning is also explained. In fact, the only thing that wouldn't be explained by your having come from the future would be your aura."

Ren's leader managed to slowly pull himself back into a sitting position, like a puppet whose master was trying to continue the show in the middle of a heart attack. "I used to have a normal one. But a reliable source has told me that a side effect of my return to this time was my soul and, consequentially, my aura, being twisted a bit. I don't understand a lot of it, but the basic story is that I no longer produce aura naturally. Instead, I draw it from around me to sustain my soul, which means that my aura is closer to my conscious mind. Makes it easier for me to manipulate it."

"And thus the mystery of your sudden mastery is solved." commented Ren, who was sitting further back on his bed so he could lean against the wall. Nora had ceased the effort required to remain seated, and was instead giving Jaune a smile that warned him to keep an eye on her.

Pyrrha, however, was leaning forward, and was barely seated on her covers any more. "The future...how far?" she asked.

"A year," replied her partner, "not long before the Vytal Festival was due to end." And just like that, he realised, it was accepted. There were no probing looks or pointed questions, there was no disbelief or laughter. They had simply listened, and they had believed him. _No matter if they're from now, a year in the future, or even decades on; they'll always be the same. They'll always be my family._

That simple realisation was enough to lay Jaune's final fears to rest, and though he could feel the tears tracing down his cheeks, he didn't move to stop them. _I really did find them again; I have my family back._ Pyrrha settled down beside him, and he leaned his head on her shoulder, her presence the most grounding thing in the world. _I lost her once...but she's here now. She's still here, and if I can help it, she always will be._

Jaune's emotions had been going on a rollercoaster ride for weeks. Bouts of depression triggered by his memories of what he had lost, and joy at rediscovering them...but now, for the first time since Pyrrha's loss, he felt truly balanced. "Everyone has some of both..." he murmured. He hadn't really understood when Pyrrha first spoke to him about aura...but now, he felt that the meaning behind her words had finally made its way to him, even if it wasn't in quite the same context.

He reached out and found her hand, grasping it in his own. Ren watched as a smile spread across the red-haired warrior's face, and even as he struggled with the implications of his leader's revelation, he couldn't help but smile a little himself. Those two might have been different in many regards, but at the core, the two of them were true warriors – and that bond would carry them a long way.

* * *

"Okay, Jaune. So you came here from a year in the future. That raises an incredible number of questions in and of itself, but that's for you to talk about when you want to. Instead, I'll ask this. What was your purpose in coming back, and can we help?" It seemed to take his words a moment to reach the blonde, but as they did, his eyes opened and he straightened up.

"Right, my purpose." Jaune's resolve came to the fore as he thought about it, his eyes hardening and his emotions shifted aside for a moment or two. "I came back to stop a plot, a really big one. The White Fang, Roman Torchwick and a Dust user who seemed to be manipulating both of them; they are my purpose here. All of them need to be stopped, and it has to be done before the Vytal Festival begins."

The plans that Jaune had been concocting spun into his mind's eye as his focus shifted to the mission. He appreciated the calm that settled over him at times like this, since he was feeling really worn down from all the emotions that the last few hours had brought on. "I really could use all of your help...in fact, I'd also like to try and get Team RWBY's help, though that might have to go on the back burner...I'm not sure I can handle another confession like that now."

Pyrrha's fingers, entwined with his own, squeezed just a little, a gesture he returned. "That's one hell of a mission to leave to one student; even if we recruit the others, that gives us eight operatives." Ren noted

"Ten." Jaune automatically corrected, before catching himself. "Or I should say, unless there's a major change, there'll be ten of us."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "I stand corrected. Also, it's an obvious question, but I need to ask – why not go to Ozpin with this? Surely the support of Beacon in its entirety would be beneficial to us?"

Jaune waggled his free hand back and forth. "Yes and no; while Beacon's resources would undoubtedly be helpful, they would also be incredibly noticeable. We need to work from the shadows as much as possible and derail the plans before they can get going, instead of opposing them head-on. I've seen the results of th..."

Jaune felt his calm shake a bit, and his body along with it. Pyrrha immediately pulled him over a bit so that he was leaning against her again, and he breathed slowly as he forced the emotional swell down. "I've seen the results of that, and I don't want to again." It cost him a bit to bring it up, but he knew that dealing with these feelings would be a part of his life from now on, so the blonde gritted his teeth and got through it.

Ren accepted that answer more easily than he did the small sacrifice Jaune had made to provide it – this kind of thing was well within his purview. "I understand. If I had to guess, this would be the reason behind your midnight excursion a couple of weeks ago?" His leader nodded; he was getting refocussed on whatever thoughts were passing behind his eyes, and in any case, he wasn't surprised Ren had noticed that. The guy was a freaking ninja.

"I was searching for Torchwick and the White Fang, but I was either unlucky or too unskilled, or maybe even both. I didn't find any evidence of them in the city's warehouse district, but since it was the perfect position for a base, I didn't know where else to look."

"Leave the reconnaissance aspect to me." replied Ren. "I have a few skills in that direction." Jaune nodded wryly.

"I suppose you do at that." The addition of his team changed the tactical models significantly; Ren's information gathering skills, Pyrrha's combat expertise and the extra firepower the entire team offered opened new avenues of approach, and Jaune's mind ran along each one of them as plans unfolded in his mind like plants.

"Well, one way or another, you've certainly levelled with us, Jaune. No number of apologies are going to make me feel that I've truly repaid what I did, so instead, I will do all that is within my power to aid you in your mission." Ren bowed his head again, displaying his sincerity. He'd always been that way, Jaune reflected; courteous, steadfast and, when needed, exceptionally effective.

"I appreciate it, Ren. I'll do my best to be a leader deserving of you." Nora got up from her place on the bed, and the blonde was thankful that her smile from earlier had been replaced with something a bit less terrifying.

"Thanks, for cheering Renny up; I might not be as sneaky as he is, but let me know if there are some legs you need broken." She wrapped her arms around Jaune for another warm hug. Getting used to her touchy-feely nature had never been an issue for him, having as he did six older sisters, all of whom had been rather fond of their younger brother. He returned the hug with one arm.

"Thanks, Nora. I'm sure there'll be plenty of smashing to do before this is all over."

The smaller girl moved away to her bed. Ren had already pulled his covers back over himself. Now it felt like it was only Pyrrha and Jaune, sitting hand-in-hand on his bed. Once upon a time, the blonde would have found this somewhat strange, but wouldn't have even considered the possibility that there could be more than a friendship here...but he wasn't nearly so oblivious now, and so even as he felt mostly at peace, some of the old Arc awkwardness burned beneath the surface.

Her proximity to him seemed to expand his senses; a hint of her eucalyptus smell drifted over him, and he could feel that her hand in his was tough, but smooth. Aura tended to stop callouses from building up, both reducing the need for them and healing them as they formed. "Pyrrha...I'm sorry. For keeping things from you. I haven't been a very good partner." Jaune almost whispered the words, not really wanting to disturb the peaceful quiet that had formed.

"No, Jaune – you've been an _excellent_ partner. Secrets or not, you're one of the only people to treat me like more than a statue to be put on display. You even managed to help Ren and I get along, when I'd been afraid that our shared competitiveness was going to ruin the team." _Technically, the DDR machine should get more of the credit than me for that._ Jaune thought idly, though his full focus was still on his partner. "You've been pushing yourself, too; advancing steadily, getting better and better, but always taking the time to get us, to get _me_ , laughing and happy. I might not have your perspective, what with you being a time traveller, but if I went back to the beginning, I wouldn't choose anyone else to spend the coming years with."

She turned to look at him, their shoulders till touching and their hands still grasping each other. "Besides, you've come clean now haven't you? You already threw away the biggest point you had for you being an unsuitable partner." Jaune snorted quietly. He had, at that.

"I guess I can't even beat you in a duel of words, partner." His tone was light, and he was surprised at how good he felt. "Thank you, Pyrrha. For believing me." The red-haired warrior gently released Jaune's hand, standing up. Before she returned to her bed, however, she placed a hand on the side of his face, looking into his eyes.

"You don't have to thank me for that Jaune - because there was never any other possibility." And with that remark, and a lingering smile, Pyrrha Nikos returned to her bed, her fast-beating heart the only sign of the nerves she'd been burying since the blonde's hand had taken her own. Their faces had been so close...

Jaune sat in place for a moment, before standing to move his armour and weapon onto the chest of drawers. Sorting them could wait until the morning. At that moment, all he could do was grab his sleepwear and take a hot shower before changing into them, part of him thankful that the showers in Beacon were all sound proofed for just this kind of event. The rest of him was mostly asleep and, as soon as he exited the bathroom, his body just turned on the autopilot. His hand reached out without looking, brushing the light switch and throwing the room into darkness. His feet traced a path to his bed, and he sank between the covers, falling into a deep, natural sleep as soon as his face touched the pillow. His last thought was that Pyrrha had never actually stated how many years she meant...

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **And thus the Arc healing process can begin with a peaceful, relaxing day collecting red sap in Forever Fall...yeah, right. Well, that's in the immediate future...currently, I'm looking at the immediate past. I wonder if, perhaps, I should have had more character development before this (or, at least, more examples of the team interacting – like their weekend in Vale). Perhaps that's something I'll revisit later on...well, one way or another, this is kind of how I saw it playing out in my head:**

 **Ren can tell what's going on in Jaune's head basically all the time, so he would know instantly that Jaune was being straight with him. Then, once he got the truth, he would simply fit it into the puzzle and see how it all came together... and thus, he would find a way to repay the debt he believed he owed. Because such is the way of the freaking ninja.**

 **I imagine that Nora is just as good a judge of character as Ren, even if she does it more on intuition than science, and so she would know he was telling the truth. Of course, since she now knows that Jaune has advanced knowledge of the upcoming year...well, I'm sure she would never attempt to convince her team leader into sharing his knowledge so she could get ahead in homework. Definitely not.**

 **Pyrrha would be the easiest to convince; at this point, they have spent almost three weeks in each other's company, through lessons, down-time and sparring (this is the kind of stuff that I think I want to write more about...though I suppose it'll have to come later now.). Combine that with the mutual attraction that's going on this time around, and she can probably read him even better than Ren can.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any criticism or comments, please leave a review to let me know, and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	14. Chapter 14, Forever Falling

" _It's morning, it's morning, it's morning~!"_ Jaune groaned as Nora's sing-song voice barged into his psyche and got his brain into gear. Something about the sheer amount of energy she projected all the time was definitely infectious. Still, as Jaune cracked his eyes open, he couldn't help but wish it would be a little _more_ infectious. He felt like a wreck; he didn't know how much actual sleep he'd managed to get, but with how he felt, it certainly wasn't enough. Still, as he sat up in the manner normally reserved for the recently resurrected, he forced himself to get out of bed and search blearily for his gear.

 _Field trip...Forever Fall...clothes...sword...coffee..._ Jaune made the list into a mantra, cycling around and around in his mind as he dragged his discarded armour into a wardrobe to change. Thus garbed, he re-entered the main room buckling on Crocea Mors. His fingers fumbled slightly, and he frowned. That wasn't normal; his training had instilled movements like deploying his shield and attaching his weapon so deeply into him that they were only marginally more difficult than breathing. He hadn't fumbled like that in months.

 _I'm more fatigued than I thought..._ he thought to himself, even as he shook his head in an effort to achieve some kind of awareness. Looking around, he found that his teammates were all missing, though the wardrobe doors were closed. _I must have passed Ren walking out..._ He settled down on his bed to await them, his head resting in his hands. The fatigue was most likely from all the emotional turmoil last night had unearthed. He'd just push through it, like he had when he spent too much time cramming for tests. And it wasn't like this would be a difficult day in any case; he remembered where the Ursa had attacked Cardin and him, so he could just steer his team clear of that particular area.

Nora was, of course, the first of the three to finish changing. Ren joined them moments later, and maybe ten seconds later Pyrrha emerged. With JNPR assembled, Jaune led the charge for breakfast. The dining hall yielded the usual array of cereal, pancakes, fruits and fry-up items, but Jaune found that his appetite didn't allow him to eat his usual fill. His brow furrowed when he barely managed to finish a half-stack of pancakes. _I suppose it's my fatigue at work..._

Putting the thoughts out of his mind as being largely unimportant in the face of briefing his team, Jaune's eyes swept across his team mates. Ren, as usual, was taking his time eating. Although, when juxtaposed with Nora, who could demolish pancakes as quickly as she could demolish Grimm, his movements appeared almost glacial. Jaune turned a little to check on Pyrrha, who had already finished her meal – not that he'd expected anything else. "Alright team, listen up. Since I've got free reign now, I think I'll make use of it and explain the day ahead."

Ren stopped eating immediately, looking up even as Nora's usual well of breakfast chatter dried up for a moment. Pyrrha also turned to look at him. It was to be expected; after all, Jaune was going to be providing information on the future. It was a momentous occasion... _and it's also a chance for them to see if you were really telling the truth,_ muttered the insidious little voice that Jaune associated with self doubt. He ignored it, a task that his flagging energy made more difficult than usual, and laid out the basics of what was coming.

"Today will be a trip to Forever Fall; it's a heavily forested area not far from the academy, and the trees there produce a particular type of red sap. Collecting jars of that sap will be our assignment, one jar to a person." Inspiration struck, and Jaune added, "The sap, though it smells good, isn't fit for human consumption." Ren looked his leader in the eye, and Jaune thought he did a good job of flashing a fearful micro-expression and glancing at Nora without making it clear to the others. The martial artist interpreted his meaning easily, resolving to keep a close eye on his partner during the process.

"Also, you all need to be on your guard. There are Grimm in the forest; I don't have a figure count of any kind, but I can definitely state that there are Ursa. Of course, these should remain a secondary threat that we can avoid – the primary danger this trip comes in the form of CRDL." His three team-mates all blinked at once. Ren and Pyrrha had the tact not to turn and stare at the aforementioned team, but Nora just turned to bore holes in them with her eyes.

Cardin and his team were eating a few benches across the hall. After the incident with Velvet early on in the term, Cardin had been training in vain to get back at Jaune. In combat training, Jaune's skill was well above Cardin's, so instead of being matched with the great lummox he occasionally traded blows with members of RWBY - though more often with a few of the classmates he'd never got to know very well, but were around the same level of skill as he was. This lack of interaction hadn't stopped the pointed glares that CRDL's leader mass-produced in Jaune's presence, nor had it put an end to his attempts at embarrassing Jaune in day-to-day life.

Those efforts had been futile, of course. The blonde had known every move he would try, and when Cardin had tried to activate his shield in a doorway, he had 'accidentally' turned sideways, so that his weapon's deployment caught the boy right in the chest. He'd flown a good few feet, and Jaune had been inspired to try and work out some technique which could utilise that little trick. _Why did I never think of this before?_ he'd wondered, even as he called out to Cardin, "Sorry about that. I can be _ever_ so clumsy sometimes.". He'd received a low sigh in return - he had expected a growl, but decided that the sentiment was probably the same.

The attempts had been tailing off since the second week, but Jaune knew that the situation was far from resolved. Since Cardin had proven to be one of the most predictable elements he'd encountered since returning to this time, Jaune was willing to bet that he'd gone for the Rapier Wasps again. He remembered those things; vicious creatures, their stinger could move fast enough to perforate a human almost five times a second, pumping in venom with each strike.

Thankfully the miniscule doses were almost harmless on their own, but it only took about five seconds of concentrated assault from one wasp to cause a nasty rash. Jaune had managed to lure them together using syrup from Beacon's kitchens and trap them in a cardboard box back when he was wimpier - he was sure CRDL were capable of managing it too.

"CRDL? They're actually a threat?" asked Ren, who had apparently abandoned his remaining breakfast.

"Not in terms of combat ability – to us, at least. But so long as things haven't changed too dramatically, they plan on attacking us with Rapier Wasps. They're attracted to sweet things, so the sap we'll be gathering will pull them in like a magnet. They'll try to ambush us, so we need to make either avoid them entirely or ensure that we're ready, while staying away from the area where I know there are Grimm." Ren absorbed the information and nodded. He pulled out his scroll, and a quick search revealed a map of Forever Fall.

"There is mention here of sporadic Grimm sightings...the reports all appear to be focussed on the southwest. I suggest we venture in the opposite direction." The blonde nodded his own head in acknowledgement.

"Okay, so the game plan is as so: once we touch down, we stay long enough to collect our jars, and then make our way to the southeast. Ren, we'll rely on you to help us lose CRDL. Once we shake them, we can make our way north to complete the mission, and return to the bullhead, where they can't start anything. Good?"

Pyrrha and Ren both nodded. The martial artist was quite certain that he could maneuver his team away from four bumbling idiots such as team CRDL, even in broad daylight. The red-haired warrior was equally certain in her ability to demolish CRDL with little more than a gesture should the situation demand it – three of them wore heavy armour, after all.

"Or we could go behind door number three." Nora's eyes were glinting evilly, and Jaune felt compelled to ask the obvious question, out of some morbid curiosity.

"And what's that, Nora?"

"We break their legs!" The blonde wasn't sure what he'd expected...but that was along the right lines.

"Break whose legs?" asked a familiar voice, and Jaune turned to find his fellow blonde Yang settling in beside him. The rest of RWBY took seats at the table as well, and the two teams exchanged greetings.

"Oh, Yang, this is perfect! Between us, we can break twice the legs in half the time!" While Ren began explaining to Nora that math didn't work like that, the brawler turned to regard Nora's leader.

"So, spill it Jaune! who're the targets? I haven't broken a leg in almost a _month_." She cracked her knuckles for emphasis, and even with an extra year of combat experience, Jaune still gulped.

"Oh, it's no one, Yang, we were just...discussing how effective our teams would be if we joined forces at some point!" The patented goofy Arc grin came to life, as Jaune tried to play it off with what he might affectionately call his 'pre-common sense' persona.

Unfortunately, Yang was about as easily deterred in conversation as she was in combat. "Oh, I don't think so. Come on, what's going on? If someone deserves to have their legs broken, I want in on it." _Damn. Okay, how can I turn this to my advantage..._

"I guess you got me...you know CRDL? I'm pretty sure they're going to try something on the field trip." Yang was a brash fighter, who liked to lead with her fists instead of her head, but she still managed to be more surreptitious than Nora in eying Cardin's team.

"You know, with the looks they're shooting this way, you might just be right." Her lilac eyes flicked away from the three examples of mediocre malevolence that was currently building several benches away, meeting Jaune's blue. The blonde leader couldn't help but notice that CRDL's leader wasn't glaring like his team. In fact, he wasn't looking in their direction at all...he was just staring at the table, chewing his breakfast.

His examination of the hulking figure across the room was interrupted by Yang. "Do you guys want to hang with us while we're out and about? You can take those guys, sure, but as our year's resident prankmaster and detention-related record holder, I can attest to just how trigger-happy Goodwitch is with her punishments. A fight on a field trip will probably end up with you in just as much trouble as them."

Jaune re-ran the plans in his head, adding RWBY to his own team this time around. In each way he approached it, having them around was a boon instead of a disadvantage. He glanced at Ren, who nodded to him. "We'd be glad for the company." Yang grinned, smacking a hand onto Jaune's back around his left shoulder, nearly knocking him into the table.

"Of course you, are it's us!" However, as the blonde sat back up, he realised that his team were looking at him a bit oddly. He understood why - apart from Ren, their team had some pretty exceptional upper-body strength. Strong as he was, without her Semblance active or Ember Celica lending her blows strength, a friendly tap like that from Yang shouldn't have had such a pronounced effect. _Fatigue, lack of appetite, and now my strength is fading..._ Jaune's symptoms were beginning to pile up, but he pushed those thoughts away.

 _I'll deal with that later._ For now, he was more concerned with recreating fight simulations in his head, RWBY and JNPR working in tandem. _Between us, we should be more than a match for any of our main opponents – at least, one at a time. I'll have to take this opportunity to bring RWBY closer to being allies._

The bell went a few minutes later, where breakfast had devolved into a simple series of conversations. Ruby and Pyrrha had been talking about some new firearm-related development, with Nora interjecting occasionally as she spoke with Yang. Blake, Weiss, Ren and Jaune had kept to themselves for the most part, content to converse with their own thoughts. The eight students followed the instructions Goodwitch had given them after combat lessons the previous afternoon (was it really less than a day ago? It felt like longer to Jaune) and gathered at one of Beacon's landing pads, where they found an idling Bullhead and...not Professor Goodwitch.

In her stead stood Professor Oobleck, dressed for an adventure and carrying his thermos. "Good morning class as you can see Professor Goodwitch was busy so I will be your teacher on this trip. Please make your way on board the craft and we will take our leave." His speech delivered in under ten seconds, the professor was onboard the aircraft almost before his students registered his words.

"This is different..." muttered Jaune under his breath. Next to him and so the only person close enough to hear, Ren got the meaning behind the blonde's words. He was saying that some aspect of this situation had changed; that meant that other factors might also have changed, and that meant that the knowledge Jaune had may no longer be valid. Ren was going to have to go another setting up on the Paranoia dial.

* * *

It was only a quarter hour flight to Forever Fall, but Jaune still had to spend the entire time focussing on keeping his breakfast down. When they finally made land-fall, he was the first out of the ship, leaning over and breathing quickly. _Damn...I thought I was getting better at this..._ His team caught up with him moments later, Pyrrha placing a comforting hand in its usual spot on his shoulder as he got himself under control. He straightened up a few moments later, as the last student left the Bullhead.

"Alright class gather together quickly now. You're here to collect samples of the sap that these trees produce for Professor Peach so please collect a jar each and a spigot between partners. Once this is done you may go and find a suitable tree to draw from. Please do not go more than half a mile from here as we may need to recall you quickly."

JNPR claimed four jars and two spigots before joining and combining with RWBY, who had also received their equipment. CRDL got their own supplies too, but Jaune couldn't help but recognise a cardboard box marked with a large 'W' that Russel was carrying. He wasn't the only one staring at it - Ren had been eyeing it all through their journey, and Cardin didn't seem too pleased as he looked at it either.

 _What's with that guy...the Wasps were his suggestion, so why's he look like he doesn't even want them here_ _?_ Jaune tried to think of a reason, but the line of reasoning was too long for him to focus on, and he just let it go.

 _The Wasps won't be an issue anyway, since we'll be in a group twice their size. CRDL won't dare try anything,_ he reassured himself, nodding along to his own thoughts. As his focus shifted, he felt the glass jar between his fingers begin to slip, and he was forced to clutch hard and bend his knees a bit in an effort to halt its fall. His team noticed the sudden movement, and Pyrrha frowned as she moved in front of her leader. His skin looked paler than usual, and his eyes were somewhat sunken.

"Jaune, are you all right? You don't look very good..." The blonde met her eyes. He was looking at her through a kind of misty white haze, but he decided that was probably the sun, and nodded happily enough.

"Of course! I'm a little tired, but perfectly fine Pyrrha, don't worry about me." He smiled at her, then turned to the other six members of their group. "So, Ren, which way is northeast?"

The black-haired youth led his companions through the forest in the requested direction, and they stopped once they'd moved around almost half a mile away, presumably because this was the first time they'd been in a natural setting without some part of it trying to kill them in a month - a novel experience.

Jaune found that just putting one foot in front of the other was now a focussed effort, and he struggled to maintain even that level of concentration for such a prolonged period of time as his legs started to feel weaker. Once they reached the point that they estimated was right around the half a mile mark, Jaune turned to his team mates and mumbled something along the lines of "Okay, let's gather this sap."

Ruby issued the same command, if far more effectively, and the four sets of partners each found a tree to their liking. Ren and Nora were both keeping an eye on their leader though, even as Jaune wrapped his fingers around the spigot's main body, took careful aim, and drove the spike at the tree as hard as he could. His foggy brain was shocked, if mutely, when the tool failed to pierce the bark, instead rebounding from the plant.

He looked at his hands, even as Pyrrha did the job instead. She turned back to him, brow furrowed in concern. Her leader had got worse on the walk; he was sweating, despite the chill air, and she had seen his steps grow slower and smaller over time, as if his fatigue grew more and more with each movement. Pyrrha was now seriously worried, and she decided to make that known. "Jaune, what's wrong? And don't tell me nothing, because that's not going to fly."

The blonde turned to her, but he was feeling sluggish – his brain was drowning in cotton wool. "...dunno...feeling really, really...sleepy..." he managed to get out, his acknowledgement of his condition coming far too late – he passed out, and he fell over backwards from the crouched position he had been in.

"Jaune!" cried Pyrrha, who had managed to get her hand behind his head before it could hit the ground. His skin was pale and sallow, his closed eyes were almost black in comparison, and his breathing was irregular. Placing her fingers to his neck, Pyrrha came very close to panicking as she felt that his pulse was well below normal. Cursing herself for not taking action earlier, she laid him down properly, as the rest of the group reached them.

Blake chose not to kneel down beside the blonde, and instead she managed to get into a tree where she could observe the nearby area, Gambol Shroud drawn and ready. Ren had moved to his leader immediately, and he turned his analytical mind loose on Jaune's prone form, hoping to find some indication of what was wrong. It offered a theory, and after a moment's hesitation, he manifested his aura.

As he rested his hand on the blonde's forehead, he concentrated hard. It took a moment but, with a flash of magenta, Jaune's aura also ignited...though that was probably too strong a word. Gone was the normal cloak of white flames; instead, mere wisps of energy floated above Jaune's form. "Oh, Monty..." Ren muttered.

He turned to Yang instantly. "Yang, start firing off Ember Celica. It's the closest we have to a flare, and we need help to come to us." The blonde didn't even question the order, she just began punching toward the sky at regular intervals, the shots blossoming into light with sharp cracks which would be easily visible from the Bullhead's location. Ren knew that Beacon pilots were trained professionals; they would notice the lights quickly, and they would know what it signified.

"Ren, what's wrong with him?" asked Ruby, who was now kneeling on Ren's other side, across from Pyrrha, who had taken Jaune's hand in her own. Nora crouched just beside her, near Jaune's head, and she was whispering in his ear – probably for her own benefit as much for Jaune's. There was nothing she could do here, so she just tried to cope.

Weiss stood above and behind her partner, her normally haughty visage now laced with worry. She had only interacted with Jaune a few times since the locker room, as part of her team. He had managed to heal her opinion of him quickly, demonstrating that his behaviour at that time was simply acting. Weiss hadn't figured out why he had purposefully started off on the wrong foot with her, but she wanted to learn the answer one day, and if Arc died that would be impossible.

"It's his aura; it's almost completely gone. It's obvious now, but it must have been draining all day. He just kept going, and now he's almost completely out..." Magenta eyes met green as Pyrrha read between the lines. The damage done to Jaune's soul must have done more than just stopped him using his aura in combat – it had also stopped him drawing aura from the environment, and now his soul was almost finished with its finite supply.

"We need a way to give him more aura," stated Pyrrha, "ideas?" Ren's mind raced faster and faster as knowledge, training and intuition came together to create one of his flimsiest theories yet.

"Alright. Pyrrha, manifest your aura." The warrior did so without a moment's hesitation, crimson light roiling around her as Ren continued. "You activated Jaune's aura, that means you have a direct link to him that none of us have. I need you to try and use that connection again; if you can manage it, I hope that your aura can keep him going until help arrives."

It went unsaid that this would only work for Jaune - and that was _if_ they understood his ability properly. He'd never told them where he had learned about how his power worked, nor when he had learned about it. It was one of many things he still hadn't shared. Ren had sworn to back off on those topics, but now he wished his leader would open up a bit more.

Pyrrha nodded, mostly calm on the surface, but inwardly she was something of a maelstrom. Jaune was lying in front of her, looking almost dead and getting worse – fear, anger and something she couldn't quite identify were all conjured by that image. She pushed aside as much of it as she could, taking deep breaths. Casting her mind back to the moment when she first unlocked Jaune's aura, she repeated her incantation, as if she were trying to unseal his power for a second time.

" **For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee.** "

Her aura responded as she had been taught, coursing through her hand and into the blonde lying in front of her. The emotional shock that came with the transfer kicked in instantly...but, unlike before, it stayed. Pyrrha could feel her aura flowing into Jaune at a steady rate, and she would have sighed in relief if not for her mind being otherwise occupied.

Jaune's mental state was currently open to her, whether she wanted it or not. First and foremost in his mind was anger; he had passed out raging at himself for not putting it all together, for heaping this burden on his team. Quick on anger's heels were sadness and frustration – he had thought that he was improving, that he was learning to use his aura in a way that could make a difference, but all he'd managed to do so far was cause trouble for himself and others. Alongside fear and doubt, the grouping of negative emotions circled in his mind like sharks in bloody water. But behind it all something still glowed: two feelings, unbowed by Jaune's situation and the war zone that most of his mind had become.

Resolve burned the brightest; he was refusing to die, refusing to quit fighting, until he achieved his goal. It was a determination born of something much darker, that lurked on the shadowy edges of Jaune's psyche – but despite where it came from, it shone in his mind like a beacon. Beside it was what made Pyrrha really wish that Jaune's life didn't depend on her maintaining contact.

Love glowed softly like a hearth fire in Jaune's mind, and even as she tried to ignore it, the knowledge seeped through; the blonde felt love for his sisters and for his mother; for the members of team RWBY, who he included in that group; for Ren and Nora, the brother he'd never had and the warm presence which had drawn so many smiles from beaten faces. But most of all, Pyrrha felt the love he had for her. It was relatively new - not as ingrained as what he held for his family, friends and team mates...but it was strong and true nonetheless, and fed from his resolve just as his resolve fed from it.

As Pyrrha tried to deal with suddenly knowing her leader's mind as intimately as he did, she felt the sensation of Jaune's open mind retreating. She became more and more aware of herself again, and with a groan, found herself lying in a Bullhead. On the floor beside her, lying on a stretcher, was Jaune. He looked better than he had, but he was still unconscious. The red haired warrior tried to get up, move over and re-link their auras...but her limbs felt like lead, and she just couldn't muster the energy to do more than shift with a pained grunt.

"Good to see you awake, Pyrrha." Jaune's partner traced Ren's voice to the young man himself, who was actually sitting directly opposite where she lay. She realised that she was lying on a stretcher herself, but Ren was making use of a bench. "Jaune's okay now; it turns out that Oobleck brought plenty of Dust supplies with us, and Weiss knows a thing or two in regard to that substance. I have to admit she was impressive - she managed to put together a Dust that's keeping Jaune's soul ticking over while his aura sorts itself out. It's holding him steady, and it should keep him alive until he can start pulling aura from the environment again."

Sighing in relief, Pyrrha ceased her struggles to rise. "Oh, thank Monty." she breathed, the weight which had settled on her chest watching Jaune fall finally dissipating.

Ren leaned forward, his hands clasped. "Since Jaune will be alright, let's talk about you. You were supporting him for almost two hours, while Oobleck got the bullhead over here and Weiss formulated the Dust; during that time, you gave Jaune almost all of your aura reserves, and you seemed to fall into a kind of trance. I'd be very interested to know what you a experienced."

The warrior tried to nod, remembered that was a bad idea, then settled for just speaking. "It was almost exactly like when I first unlocked his aura...but it was protracted. I didn't just connect with him for a split second, I got a full view of his mind. Ren, I don't understand how he's functioning like this in that state. His feelings are all so dark and twisted...and that's just the surface, I feel sure that things are even worse deeper down. He's lived through something soul-destroying Ren...all he has left are his resolve and his...", here Pyrrha couldn't help but cough and blush a little before continuing, "love. Those two things are all that are keeping him going..."

The martial artist read her like an open book. "You finally figured out he's carrying a torch for you then. I suppose we should all be glad that you got this chance, because sooner or later Nora was going to take things into her own hands." The mental images that conjured made the warrior want to simultaneously cringe and laugh.

"I'm not sure I can be thankful that Jaune's ended up like this...but, I suppose knowing that he feels that way is...it makes me feel..." Words were failing her, but Ren held up a hand.

"I know." And like with everything he said, Pyrrha believed him. The martial artist turned to look up toward the Bullhead's cockpit, then turned back to his team mate. "You can just go back to resting; you're being sent to the infirmary alongside Jaune and CRDL when we get back to Beacon, and since you won't be going anywhere under your own power, it's the stretcher for you too."

Pyrrha's interest had been immediately captured. "CRDL? Why are they going to the infirmary?" The martial artist's face didn't betray a single thing he was thinking or feeling.

"It's the damndest thing; they were transporting an improperly secured box of Rapier Wasps, and when they started drawing sap from the trees, the scent set them off. CRDL will live, but it's sure not pretty."

"An improperly secured box, eh? How unfortunate."

"Yes, indeed. A truly cruel act of fate" Act of fate her foot; Pyrrha was sure that, if she had checked, she would have discovered a few choice incisions in the binding of that particular box. Apparently those thoughts were clear to see, as a small smile pulled at the corner of Ren's face.

Where was the point in having such skill as he possessed if it couldn't be put to good use every now and again?

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Well, I finished writing this chapter before midnight...so...technically still a chapter a day?  
**

 **I dunno. Anyway, my study leave has now begun, meaning that my days will be spent studying, sleeping, and resting. Rest will basically be writing this, so productivity may, in fact, increase (but don't take my word for it).**

 **My thanks to dragoon109 once again, for directing me to the story 'Silver' by Imyoshi, which has given me a great many ideas that might make appearances in future chapters.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**

 **P.S. I am now working as a beta-reader, so anyone who sees this and happens to be looking for one (perhaps for their own RWBY story?) can hit me up, and I'll be more than happy to talk it over with them.**


	15. Chapter 15, South and Past

Pyrrha Nikos lay on her side in the infirmary, her eyes fixed on her leader. The blonde was in the next bed over, still unconscious. They had returned from Forever Fall in the early afternoon, with CRDL being isolated in another part of the infirmary; apparently, the teaching staff wanted to discuss the reasons behind their possession of dangerous creatures.

The medical staff had examined both Jaune and Pyrrha, then gauged their auras using scrolls. Ren told them all that had happened, with Weiss pitching in to explain the substance she'd concocted, and a lot of medical terms had been thrown around. The end result was that Jaune and Pyrrha would be spending the rest of the day in the infirmary, at minimum. Of course, that didn't mean anything if the blonde remained unconscious for that length of time...

Nora was currently occupying the seat beside Jaune's bed; Ren had volunteered to attend their Grimm Studies class, so the team wouldn't fall behind in note-taking or homework. He was due to return in about half an hour, when Nora would trade places with him and go to their combat class. The normally bouncing warrior was as subdued as Pyrrha had ever seen her; in fact, the only sign of the energy which she usually displayed was the rapid-fire clicking of knitting needles.

The day had brought a lot of things to light; among them, the discovery that Nora was fond of arts and crafts. At the moment, she was finishing the second 'Get Well Soon' themed piece of clothing of the day, an impressive feat considering she had only been doing it for about three hours...but then again, that could be rephrased as 'she had spent the last three hours focussing all her energy on doing nothing else'. And Nora Valkyrie's focussed energy was a terrifying thing, even when the end result was a new scarf.

That scarf was currently strung across the rails surrounding Jaune's bed, like a banner. Pyrrha hadn't mentioned it; there would have been no point. She would probably be looking for something else to do as well, if it weren't for her current condition...and the fact that she had more than enough on her mind.

First and foremost was a question: "Will he know?"

It had been pressing on her, and the repercussions of the various possibilities had been playing in her head since she'd been assured that her partner would be fine - and didn't _that_ word take on a whole new meaning after this afternoon's soul searching. If Jaune was aware that she had seen into his mind, it raised a whole slew of possibilities; would he be upset? Angry? If he had somehow known what she was seeing, had he looked into her as well? What had he seen?

What did she _want_ him to have seen? That was another thought raised by her experiences; she knew now that she wanted Jaune to see her in a certain way – she wanted him to like her, not just as a friend and combat partner, but as...something else. It had started weeks ago, when she first met him – her thoughts drifted back to that time, recollections swimming to the forefront of her thoughts.

* * *

Her youth had been spent in training, and by the time she was put in an environment with other people her age, they hadn't been potential friends – they had been competitors. Competitors which she had decimated, one after another, until her reputation raised her up, on to the pinnacle that she detested so much, but couldn't bear to give up. She had never been close to people; not even her parents, really.

She had come to Beacon in the belief that nothing would change; a belief which was only strengthened when Weiss Schnee had been the only person who approached her. The only person in their year whose reputation at least equalled her own, the heiress had tried to recruit Pyrrha Nikos, four time Mistral Champion to her team – and although it made perfectly logical sense, the fact that the only reason she was being approached was for her combat skills wasn't a pleasant one.

Of course, it was around that time that she had been introduced to the one and only Jaune Arc. At first, she was glad – he had saved her from conversing with Weiss. But he hadn't seemed like anything special; his physique was seemingly sub-par, he didn't demonstrate the mind-set of a warrior that she was so accustomed to, and he obviously had far more confidence than he had anything to back it up with.

Then most of her thoughts had been shocked out of her head as she underwent the most novel experience she'd had since the age of seven. He saw her at her most recognisable; in full battle dress, just as she was in most imagery, the figure which was known in every tournament circle from Mistral to Vacuo...and he hadn't shown the slightest sign of recognition. He had brushed off her presence as if she weren't even there.

That shock didn't last long though, as just moments later he was making her grin, as he tried to recruit Weiss Schnee to his team with nothing more than a silly grin and seemingly boundless confidence. In the space of ten seconds, he had managed to earn her gratitude, shock her more than any combatant in years and even entertain her. She had decided then and there that she wanted to know more about this young man.

Of course, when Weiss had tried to use not just her own, but also Pyrrha's reputation to drive him off, she'd been angry; what right did the shorter girl have to assume Pyrrha wanted the young man gone? What right did she have to act in a way which could ruin a friendship in the making? She'd been prepared to take out her frustrations on the heiress and damn the consequences...until her attempts failed. They failed so completely, so utterly, that Pyrrha's anger was completely forgotten.

She had listened in wonder as the blonde admitted to not knowing what Sanctum was; to not even recognising the Mistral Tournament. It was a lack of knowledge that she hadn't even thought possible, and it represented a blank slate for her to start with; someone who wouldn't have any sort of bias when it came to her. Then he'd been so excited when it was revealed that she had been on cereal boxes...he had been almost childlike, and it was all she had been able to do not to laugh. Even more childlike was how he'd immediately bounced back from the slump Weiss had managed to put him in, with just the lightest touch and kind words. He had been irrepressible, like a float which refused to sink. And his smile had been so warm and genuine...

It had been the single most enlivening experience she'd had in years, and she had walked away feeling like, for the first time in so long, there was hope for her.

* * *

The warrior sighed. Her feelings had, if anything, only grown since then. In the Emerald Forest, she hadn't even hesitated to take him on as her partner, feeling that he was the best fit for her. She hadn't realised that the emotional rollercoaster the day would become was yet to finish its ride. He had presented her with a strange dichotomy as soon as he found him; he had been skilled enough to get himself down from the tree, but he hadn't been skilled enough to land properly? That made sense when he admitted that he didn't have his aura to rely on – but it had raised questions all of its own. How had he been accepted into Beacon without an aura? How had he even expected to progress without one of a Huntsman's most basic tools?

It would have been so easy to simply not lend a hand; to let him be noticed by Beacon's staff, and removed from a life he might well be unprepared for...but she found that she couldn't. It was selfish, but she wanted to spend more time with the strange blonde. So she had performed the incantation, just as it had been done to her...and had been completely unprepared for it.

She had known to expect some emotional feedback for a moment, but when she did, it was overwhelming; the young man had felt like a yawning abyss, some great darkness that spoke to incredible suffering. Not only that, but instead of his power rising up from within him, it was as if it poured in from outside him, a powerful rush that was unlike anything she'd ever felt. The temporary exhaustion which came from unlocking another's aura had been exacerbated by the strange sensation and the darkness she'd been exposed to, and for a moment she felt that she might just break down.

But Jaune had taken the whole thing in stride, giving her a comforting hand and trying to look after her. When was the last time someone had done that, instead of assuming that Pyrrha Nikos could handle absolutely anything?

The rest of the day had been the same; time and again, Jaune had demonstrated skills above and beyond his peers, made calls that had all turned out for the best, even ones which she herself might not have. At the time, she hadn't even considered how he could possibly have known some of the things he did, as she was too swept up in following the trail he blazed so easily. Even when they were made part of a team with Ren and Nora, just as Jaune had predicted, she didn't think much of it. It had been a major oversight on her part, she now realised; the past three weeks had been full of times when Jaune had displayed oddly in-depth knowledge of Beacon, of his friends' habits and of the lessons they were taking. Had she really been so enamoured with him that she hadn't seen it?

 _A question which Ren would probably renounce as not being worth an answer_ , she thought. And she had to admit that she was enamoured now; perhaps it had been from as early on as their first meeting, but one way or another she had come to terms with being interested in him. _I suppose this is my first crush,_ she mused, smiling at the thought. At least she could freely admit that she enjoyed his company more than normal now; after the previous night's confession, some part of her had been scrambling for reasons explaining away her pounding heart. Last night...

By all rights, she should have been dealing with the fallout from that discussion. After all, her partner had snuck out of the infirmary after injuring himself in a mental-breakdown induced demonstration of terrifying power, and then told them that he was a time traveller...yet the part of that night she dwelled on most were the feelings she'd had when she and Jaune had just been sitting on his bed, holding hands and talking.

That couldn't be right, she knew; she should definitely have been freaking out, or disbelieving – and she certainly wasn't happy with his decision. But nor did it induce the kind of negativity she believed was expected in this situation. _He's a tortured soul; after all, just because he can't say it out loud doesn't mean you can't understand what must have happened._ It was simple, after all. Jaune had come back to stop a major plot; he had told them as much himself. His breakdown made much more sense in context – he had gone on and on about failure, listing JNPR and RWBY, even the school itself.

 _You know what it means. You know what he experienced. And you also know that Jaune isn't the kind of person to cope with that, certainly not without some incredible support._ That seemed to sum up her reasons for not holding Jaune's secrecy against him; she understood him and his situation, and it was all together harder to hate someone when she could sympathise with them. Still, what she _could_ blame him for was ending up like this. What kind of idiot decided to just walk out of an infirmary, even understanding that they couldn't gauge the full extent of their own injuries? _Presumably someone smarter than the three idiots who then did absolutely nothing about it_.

Pyrrha had to admit she had a point.

* * *

Her musings were interrupted by the infirmary door being pushed open. Lie Ren entered, his steps completely silent on the linoleum as he approached his partner and leader. Nora was examining the pink woolen hat in her lap, which had Jaune's crest adorning it. "It looks great, Nora." Ren told her, carefully taking it from her hands and lifting the blonde's head just enough to slip it underneath. Nora herself stood and stretched, having not moved from her chair in hours.

"Look after him, Renny." Pyrrha heard her say; there was none of the usual fizz in her voice, and the wrongness that was a quiet Nora Valkyrie ate at her.

The hammer-wielding warrior was almost out of the door to the infirmary when she abruptly stopped reaching for the door handle, and instead moved back out of its opening arc. Moments later, the door was pushed inward, and Glynda Goodwitch strode into the room. She moved straight over to where Ren had been seated, but was now back on his feet, Nora hot on her heels.

The professor's eyes swept over the blonde's unconscious form, then the monitors beside him, and then finally Jaune's team mates. Pyrrha met her gaze evenly, but she had no idea what the older woman was thinking. She felt sure that they were about to find out however, as with a gesture, the door shut and locked itself. She then felt the bed beneath her lift slightly, moving over so that it was within conversational reach of the room's other occupants. Once JNPR were suitably gathered, Goodwitch looked over them all once more, cleared her throat, and began to speak.

"I am here at the moment without Ozpin's knowledge, which means that this conversation needs to be short – if I'm gone too long, the school falls apart around him, and he'll notice I'm missing." This clear, she walked forward slightly so that she stood in the middle of a loose square. "After his altercation in the dining hall several weeks ago, I decided to look into Mr Arc; he demonstrated considerable strength, and little compunction about using it. The reasons for his doing so were, in the eyes of the academy, justified – but a Huntsman with limited inhibitions is a dangerous thing, and I wanted to be sure of his nature before he got any further into the school." She most definitely had the group's attention now. There was something about the blonde they all knew, and whatever it was, she presumed that it wasn't meant to spread beyond these four.

"I discovered quickly that the transcripts with which he applied to the school were faked; as it happens, they were done by a forger who Ozpin pays to inform him of anyone looking to get fake transcripts or Beacon-related documents. It helps root out people who might damage the academy. However, considering Arc's display of skill during initiation, and the fact that his heart appeared to be in the right place, I decided to put my faith in Ozpin knowing what he was doing."

 _He actually said that he used fake transcripts the other night, didn't he?_ Pyrrha thought, remembering that something along those lines had been part of Jaune's explanation.

Glynda noted that none of them seemed surprised at this news. _They already knew – that must mean they either found out, or he told them of his own accord. One way or another, none of it left their confidence – they've formed some strong bonds for a team only a month old. But their interest hasn't waned; there's something more._

The professor continued, "But just the same, I decided to keep an eye on him – and by extension, his team – just in case. So I discovered that you, Mr Ren, purchased supplies in Vale which would be suitable for, say, repairing a damaged bathroom wall?"

The martial artist's face and eyes betrayed nothing...and that in itself was enough for Glynda. He was wearing his poker face, so she must be getting close. "So I had a look around your rooms when you were in class. You did an admirable job of repairing the damage, but I was able to just about outline the damage inflicted. Fist-shaped indents in walls tend to pique my curiosity, so I advanced my surveillance of you to include reviewing the security footage from your training sessions."

Absolutely nothing from Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie seemed to be shifting ever closer to a fight-or-flight response, and Pyrrha Nikos was subtly testing her muscles almost individually, to gauge her combat readiness. _Whatever's going on with this team, it's important enough to have three perfectly good students on the verge of attacking a professor and seasoned Huntress. Interesting._

"And so, this morning I was reviewing the latest footage, and I witnessed something I would normally say was completely impossible. Not only does Mr Arc display a seemingly instantaneous mastery of his aura, on par only with disciples of Mr Ren's discipline, but he then proceeds to have an outburst which ends in his aura expanding by orders of magnitude. I have to admit, I wondered why I hadn't heard about a student dying overnight...but a few words from Ms Nikos lay him completely to rest - he apparently _dispels_ most of his aura, and then he simply curls up and sleeps, allowing the three of you to carry him out of there, I assume to the infirmary."

Nora's hand was flexing as if she were holding Magnhild. Pyrrha's eyes were fixed on an empty bed frame close to the professor that she could probably make use of if the woman was distracted. Ren was a perfectly calm, perfectly tranquil example of a man contemplating a big red button. _If I trigger these three, the results are going to be bad, no matter how easy I go on them – they're devoted to this. They won't stop unless I put them down somehow. I should tread carefully._

"So, I wanted to talk with him about it, and you three as well. But imagine my surprise when I hear that not only has Mr Arc apparently left the infirmary, he has joined today's field trip – and it doesn't even end there; he's collapsed in Forever Fall, his aura levels almost completely depleted and seemingly on the verge of death. A reaction that doesn't fit with any documented case, and one which was solved by Ms Nikos apparently sustaining him using her own aura – which is also completely undocumented. So, I am here now to ask what the hell is going on, because a situation this bizarre should be understood before I decide whether or not I need to involve Ozpin."

The three studied their professor for a few moments longer, each of them thinking more or less along the same lines. _There's a chance that this won't hurt us – that is preferable to trying to fight her. But if she does something that endangers Jaune, consequences be damned._

Nora slowly stopped her flexing hand, even as Pyrrha allowed herself to settle back down. Emotions started to filter back into Ren's face, even as he retrieved two more chairs from a nearby pile and set them down for Nora and Goodwitch. "We can't tell you everything. Some parts we don't know, some parts we don't have the right to tell you – that's Jaune's decision. We can, however, give you the basics."

The professor, now able to read him, looked into his eyes. Unyielding conviction was all she could find there, and she didn't have to see the others to know they were mirroring the look. "Okay, the basics will do for now." The blonde settled down in the seat, which was, she noticed, the furthest away from Jaune, placing the other three between them.

"Jaune has a...condition," began Ren, "which is, as far as know, completely unique to him. His soul doesn't produce aura naturally; as a substitute, he naturally pulls in a flow of aura from the environment, and his soul uses it up to remain functional." Barely a sentence in, and already Glynda was being forced to reorganise what she considered 'possible'.

"That flow of aura is linked to Jaune's mental and emotional state; as he gets upset, or if his survival instincts kick in, it increases, and his aura capacity increases right along side it." _So that's what happened in the training room_. "Last night, I brought up a part of Jaune's life which should have remained private, and as a result I forced him in to a mental corner. Since both the triggers for his ability were activated simultaneously, he drew more aura than his soul could handle, and he sustained metaphysical injuries."

"And those injuries were what caused his collapse on the trip?" cut in the professor.

"Yes; the current theory is that Jaune managed to damage his ability to draw new aura into himself, alongside preventing its manifestation and use in combat. His soul was left with a finite supply of aura, and it was consumed over time, causing more and more obvious physical symptoms which eventually became too serious for Jaune to deal with." That seemed to mark the end of what Ren was willing to say, as far as the professor could tell.

"I see. That is certainly a unique condition – I haven't heard of anything like this before, even in all my years of teaching and active Huntress duty. It's a double-edged power, though I do not doubt you understand that. Certainly the time you have spent enlightening Mr Arc about the use of his aura takes on a whole different meaning now. Indeed, I believe that with time, you will be able to teach him to control this ability. However, before my decision is made, I need to know something else – how is Jaune's mental state?" She knew the boy was smart enough to read between the lines here – she was really asking _If I decide to let you handle this, is he going to end up like this again?_

The martial artist met her eyes steadily, but then turned to look at his red-haired team mate. "Pyrrha, you're better qualified for this bit." The professor turned to regard the warrior as she nodded. _Interesting. Ms Nikos was able to bring Arc out of his meltdown with nothing more than words and a touch. She shared her aura with him, in some manner which they refuse to discuss. And now she is the authority on Arc's mental state._ It didn't take a genius to connect all the dots there, but Glynda also knew from the look on Pyrrha's face that she was giving an assessment, not a heartfelt attempt at making her partner seem stable.

"Jaune isn't in a good place right now. For reasons which will remain between him and us, he is suffering from some serious mental stress and a lot of repressed emotion. However, the worst of it is behind him now, and what remains we are more than capable of working out over time. He has a goal and he has us, and between those he'll get through this." There was no doubt in her voice, and a glance out the corner of her eye informed her that Lie Ren agreed. The bonds in this team were incredibly well-established; forged transcripts and self-destructive power notwithstanding, Jaune Arc was doing an excellent job as a leader.

 _So, Ren triggered some kind of breakdown in Arc over past events which he has talked about with his team mates, but they believe I cannot be trusted with. They then moved past that, probably when Arc snuck out of the infirmary, and now his team are willing to defend him even from me, while being determined to get him through it._ She sighed to herself. _Some things never change, I guess._

The professor rose, Ren and his partner doing so simultaneously. "Alright, I get the gist of it. For now, I'll put my faith in the four of you and let you solve this in-house. But if there are repeat performances like this, I will send him away from Beacon for his own good." Pyrrha's bed returned itself to where she had first been, while the door unlocked with a click. The professor strode away toward it, but she paused just before she left. "Take good care of him, and learn from this. Always look out for your own." With her parting words, she left, the door swinging closed behind her.

* * *

Team JNPR sat and lay in silence for a moment, just processing all that had occurred. Pyrrha spoke first. "So...did Beacon's strictest professor just let us get away with this? And with something approaching her blessing, at that?"

"It seems that way." replied Ren, who had retaken his seat.

"I'm not sure if I should be incredibly disturbed or incredibly relieved..." muttered the red-haired warrior, getting a grunt from Ren as he apparently shared the sentiment.

"Well, maybe she has a thing for Jauney." suggested Nora, and both Ren and Pyrrha immediately fixed her with glares that just bounced straight off. "I'm just making a suggestion~! See you later!" Nora left the infirmary moments later, although her aim appeared to have been achieved – her team mates were too busy scrubbing their minds' eyes with the mental equivalent of bleach to truly be gloomy anymore.

Unconscious on his pillow, Jaune Arc's head turned slightly, and as the pink hat came more into contact with him, one might have seen the smallest ghost of a smile pass over his face.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **That's twice in a row I've finished a chapter at one o' clock in the morning. This is both unsustainable and pretty silly...but I suppose that accounts for most things in my life. So, I wrote an entire chapter of a Jaune fanfic where the protagonist is out cold...I'm not sure how you guys will feel about that, but I felt the need to set out how Pyrrha's dealing with all this, as well as the Goodwitch / Beacon faculty situation. Does it seem a bit OoC for her to let them get away with it? Perhaps a little, but I'm sure she has her reasons...**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	16. Chapter 16, Flighty Feelings

For the second time in recent memory, Jaune Arc awoke to find himself in an infirmary bed. The familiar white ceiling and occasional light beeping, alongside the whiff of cleaning products, was fast becoming one of Jaune's least favourite sensory combinations, and he expressed his distaste with a sigh. His mind back-tracked to how he ended up here, and the sigh became more of a groan. _I am such an idiot..._

It was one thing to ignore injuries in a battle, since adrenaline tended to override the sense of pain and self-preservation. But Jaune had been fully conscious of his physical condition slowly deteriorating, and he'd just kept going with his team. Why? It wasn't like the mission was critical, or that anything rested on it; for Monty's sake, it had just been a walk in the woods to get some red sap! So why had he walked himself into the ground, undoubtedly causing his team to worry. Speaking of his team...

Jaune turned his head slightly to the right, and was greeted with the sight of Pyrrha Nikos, also lying on a bed. She had obviously been looking at him, and when she saw that his eyes were open, she called over to something behind him.

"He's awake!" Immediately, Jaune felt a hand on the side of his head, gently tilting it so that he was facing to his left instead. The hand was attached to Lie Ren, who scrutinised his leader's face for a moment before removing his hand.

"Indeed; awake and thinking, and thank Monty for that."

"Hey guys." Jaune managed, though he realised that his throat had dried up at some point. That situation was remedied when a water bottle was lifted to his lips, and slowly upended. Once he was hydrated again, Jaune sighed happily, before looking around a bit more. The clock over the infirmary door told him that it was approaching six o'clock, meaning that classes were finished and dinner would be ending soon.

"Nora's getting food?" he guessed, noting as he looked up that there was a pink woolen scarf hanging from the rails of his bed which read 'Get Well Soon'.

"Yes, she took out her frustrations on the combat class while I watched you, then volunteered to get dinner for us all. I handled Grimm Studies earlier, and as you can see, she used the time to leave you some gifts." Plural? Jaune realised that his head was resting on something seemingly softer than the usual pillows, and he reached an arm behind his head to find a pink hat with his crest on it. He smiled as he saw it, and returned it to its prior position, letting his arm rest – that simple motion had been oddly tiring.

"I'll definitely have to thank her; she does great work." Ren nodded, but didn't say anything. Jaune wasn't as good at observation as Ren, but even he could tell that his friend was struggling with something.

"So...after my attack of the vapours, what happened?" The martial artist quirked an eyebrow at his choice of terminology, his internal argument apparently put on hold as he chuckled slightly.

"Well, we managed to guess what was wrong with you quickly. We didn't really have any experience in how to deal with it though, so we took a gamble – you know how when your aura is unlocked, the person the who does it leaves a little bit of their aura with you?" Jaune nodded, and Ren continued. "Well, with how your aura worked, I was willing to bet that if Pyrrha rebuilt that connection between your auras, your soul would be able to use her aura to sustain itself until we found some other way to do it."

The martial artist's words echoed in Jaune's mind; he felt like he had experienced something during the time when he was unconscious, but it was unclear. He'd have to ask Pyrrha... "Well, the plan worked. Pyrrha was able to keep you going for two hours, while Weiss Schnee used Oobleck's Dust supplies to put together a sort of aura-substitute. That's what you've got going into you at the moment." Ren nodded to the IV drip currently feeding into Jaune's left arm, which was glowing white.

"I see." Jaune replied, raising his right hand in front of his face. He focussed for a moment, and was relieved when his aura flickered into life. It wasn't up to its normal levels, but it was still at a good level – maybe two thirds. "This stuff really works. Monty, I'm going to owe her something big." His friend nodded, shifting back a bit in his seat.

"Yes, you are. In fact, you'll have the opportunity to pay it back quite soon – team RWBY will be headed back here with Nora after dinner."

"Cool." replied Jaune, who managed to lean over slightly in search of what he knew the bed must have. "Say, Ren? Do you think you can get this thing into a sitting position?" The martial artist nodded, eyes searching the side of the bed for the lever to do so. He hadn't yet found it when the bed seemed to move itself, however, and both sets of eyes turned to their red-haired team mate, whose hand was settling back down onto the bed. Jaune favoured her with a smile and a "Thanks, Pyrrha." The look she gave him in return was...complicated. Jaune counted relief, anger and something else in her gaze, and he felt sure that she was about to let him know why.

"Jaune Arc, if you ever put yourself in so much danger for no reason again, you can be sure that I will match and exceed that danger upon your waking." The threat was delivered calmly, and left absolutely no doubt that it would be followed through. _Goodwitch would be proud,_ thought Jaune with a shiver, even as his partner continued. "But still, thank Monty you're alright. How are you feeling?"

Jaune raised his right arm again. It felt weak, but he could move it, and that seemed to be the rule for the rest of him too."I'm feeling okay; tired all over, but it's not like I'm in pain or anything. And my aura's manifesting again, so I'm recovering on that end as well. Everything's turning up Jaune." replied the blonde, emphasising his last sentence with two thumbs-up.

Pyrrha sighed happily, settling with a "That's good to hear."

She lay like that for a moment, and Jaune shifted a little so he was in a more comfortable sitting position. "Jaune...what do you remember about everything that's happened?" she asked, her voice quieter than usual.

Her partner considered for a moment, replying "I remember that a certain idiot walked himself to a collapse in the middle of a forest, for no good reason whatsoever, and placed a heavy burden on his team mates. I also get the impression that something happened after that, but it's all kind of fuzzy – I was actually kind of hoping that you could tell me what happened."

Pyrrha froze up as she heard those words, her mind racing. _He knows something happened, but not what. I could try lying, but he might be able to tell – or worse, Ren might just tell him the truth anyway. So does that mean I should just tell him? But what do I say? "I know you have a crush on me, but it's fine since I have one on you too"? No, that's a terrible idea!_

* * *

The red-haired warrior's panicky thoughts were interrupted, however, by the infirmary door being pushed open. First through was was Nora, who upon seeing that Jaune was sitting up, immediately placed the tray she was carrying on the nearest bed and launched herself across the room. Ren caught her in mid-air, just before she landed on Jaune, and set her down beside him. She didn't even seem to notice, just wrapping her arms around the blonde.

Though he had been a little worried when his friend had approached like one of Magnhild's grenades, Jaune was far more at ease with this, and he returned the hug. "You're okay, Jauney?" she asked quietly, as Ren looked on with a small smile.

"Yeah Nora, I'm fine. It's all okay now." Nora's hug grew tighter for a moment, but then she released Jaune, moving back to retrieve her rather large and laden tray and then land in the seat Ren had procured for her.

Jaune had been so focussed on his team mate that he hadn't noticed who followed her in, and so he looked up to find team RWBY just past the door. "Hey, Jaune!" called Ruby, who appeared beside the bed in a flurry of rose petals.

"Hey yourself, Ruby." he replied, not reacting to how the younger girl's eyes darted across his face, looking for anything wrong.

"Are you all right now?" she asked quietly, even as one small hand gave his an equally small squeeze. The blonde nodded happily, carefully not showing any signs of tiredness.

"Yeah, I'm good now. Sorry I worried you." Silver eyes searched blue for a moment longer, but seemed satisfied, as their owner stepped back a bit.

Lilac eyes took their place, as Jaune's fellow blonde gave him a decent tap on the shoulder. "Don't go worrying us like that again, you hear me Arc? Ruby gets all antsy when her friends are in the hospital, and I don't want to deal with the waterworks if you actually kick the bucket." Jaune interpreted that as Yang's way of saying "Good to know you're alright.".

He returned the tap she had given him, though admittedly with much reduced force. "Got it; no hospitals." He got a grin, which he felt was worth the expenditure of energy, and Yang moved to stand next to her sister.

Weiss stepped into the open space, standing just about even with Jaune in his sitting position. "I still don't know why you acted like you did when you first met me; certainly it doesn't fit with the Jaune Arc I've seen these past few weeks. I know you must have had your reasons, but I'd rather like that question answered. Don't go dying on me before I get my explanation, got it?"

Rubbing the side of his head, Jaune grinned sheepishly. "Gotcha; no dying." His hand fell back to his side, and he put on a serious expression as he leaned slightly toward the heiress. "But also, Weiss, thank you; I understand that you're a large part of the reason I'm still alive. I owe you that, now, so please call me on it if you ever have need." Weiss met his eyes, and Jaune willed her to understand that he was being serious.

"I'll keep it in mind." she acknowledged, stepping back to stand on Ruby's other side.

The final member of their team, Blake, moved forward. She was a bit taller than Weiss, and Jaune made absolutely sure that his eyes never moved to the bow on her head.

"I might not know you very well, but my team are quite fond of you. So please don't do anything that could hurt them." Jaune accepted the simple request stoically, and at face value.

"Never." was all he said in response, but that was enough for the secret faunus.

"Right then - since Jaune's up already, who's up for some Remnant: The Game?" asked Ruby, who produced said board game from...somewhere.

"Hah! Surely you jest; your meagre skills do not stand even the slightest chance of victory!" cried Jaune, setting a smug grin on his face. Weiss, Yang and Ruby all rose to the challenge immediately, though Blake just shook her head and produced a book.

"Oh, you are _so_ on, Jaune!" declared Yang, cracking her knuckles even as Ruby blurred away and returned with a table.

Nora stood up with the tray of food; soup with bread for Jaune and Pyrrha, alongside a bowl of what appeared to be noodles and vegetables for Ren, that he called a stir fry. A pile of fruits was also evident, to serve as a desert. She distributed the food for her team mates, as well as cutlery, while the others started setting up the game. When the food was delivered and the tray secured on a nearby bed, Nora moved away to help Pyrrha shift her bed closer to the game.

The game board was set up in a minute or so, the youngest member of the group expertly assembling the pieces, and the four 'leaders' claimed their kingdoms. Weiss took Atlas, Ruby took Mistral and Yang took Vale, leaving Jaune with Vacuo. Pyrrha watched in amusement as her leader cracked his knuckles just as emphatically as his fellow blonde had done, a self-assured grin evident on his face.

"Okay, then; women and children first." he gestured with a broad sweep, and three pairs of eyes narrowed in his direction. You didn't need extensive observational training to know what they were thinking. _This guy is so dead._

* * *

An hour later, Yang was desperately trying to get her last military unit out of Vacuo. She had thought Jaune's kingdom was almost undefended, as he was busily eviscerating Atlas – Mistral had fallen fifteen minutes earlier, as Weiss and Yang worked together to bring it low, wishing to then turn on Jaune. However, they had vastly underestimated Jaune's forces, and leaving her border almost undefended was coming back to bite Weiss. Atlas was completely done; it would be official in maybe a turn. Yang had been sure that Jaune had devoted all his energies to eliminating Weiss, so she had driven a major offensive of all her military units right into his kingdom.

Unfortunately, it had turned out that he hadn't even devoted half of his military to defeating the Schnee heiress, and the rest was hiding, as Jaune was using Vacuo's environment-based abilities to conceal his forces. She had been marching right to his capital when they caught her completely by surprise, decimating any chance she had of making a successful offensive, and leaving her to try and evacuate her army. Now, she only had one squad of soldiers left, desperately trying to get back across the border so that the Vacuo warriors would be without their abilities.

"Yang, Yang, Yang..." sighed Jaune from across the board. In the blonde's lilac eyes, JNPR's leader seemed to grow larger and larger, as a dark aura hung around him and he chuckled evilly. "Don't you know that what happens in Vacuo... _stays_ in Vacuo?" The brawler reached out a hand to her last remaining military piece, as if she could somehow save it...but her hand fell limp when four groups of soldiers converged on the men at once.

"They never even had a chance..." she whispered, falling back in defeat. She and Weiss had been seated on Pyrrha's bed, whilst Ruby was perched on Jaune's.

"I told you so, didn't I?" reflected Jaune, even as his forces laid the rest of Atlas to waste. "I believe that's game, ladies?" All Yang could do was hang her head, while the Schnee heiress was still dealing with such a complete and total loss, her mouth hanging slightly open. Ruby, on the other hand, was rising out of the sulk that had been started by her team turning on her so easily.

Her hood had been up for the past fifteen minutes, but now she cackled evilly from the shadows. "Excellent, Jaune; it's good to see justice done." The blonde did his best impression of a bow from the waist, his grin still in place.

"But of course; no true knight would suffer such injustice being done to a fair maiden such as yourself." Ruby laughed alongside Jaune, the blonde unable to maintain the suave facade for long. Because the two were laughing, they weren't aware of how the others in the room reacted...but Ren and Blake, who were both sitting on the sidelines and keeping an eye on their team mates in silence, very much were.

Yang looked up sharply at Jaune's comment, her eyes narrowing slightly at the two laughing leaders. Weiss' eyes did the same thing, as if she were trying to bore a hole straight through the blonde. Nora laughed right alongside them, but she kept watch on Pyrrha out the corner of her eye. The red-haired warrior's head had fallen slightly, and her teeth were gritted. Her eyes weren't properly visible...but a moment later, they seemed to flash from the shadows which concealed them.

Jaune's laughter was just winding down, and he was turning to look at his friends to see if they wanted another game, when a pillow hit him in the face with enough force to nearly tilt the bed. His head _was_ tilted backwards, and he remained in that position for a moment until the projectile fell, a Jaune-shaped imprint in its fabric. He remained like that, with his head facing the ceiling for a moment longer, before he slowly looked down.

Pyrrha's arm was still outstretched, as she panted slightly from the effort of putting so much force behind it when she hadn't yet recovered. He locked eyes with her, and a lot passed between them in that moment. It only took a second, but Jaune felt a grin spreading across his face as he understood.

"Oh, so that's how you want to play it, eh?" He picked up the pillow, throwing and catching it a couple of times. He started to take careful aim, moving his arm back and forth as if preparing to throw, whilst his other hand made frantic signals in Ren's direction.

When he release the pillow, it didn't fly at Pyrrha...instead, it was caught by Ren, who passed it onto Nora, who in turn brought it down on top of Pyrrha's head. The red haired warrior was caught completely by surprise, and she shook her head to clear it even as Nora fell off the bed, laughing uncontrollably. Yang's eyes glinted dangerously, and she suddenly stood.

"Weiss, our hostess was just attacked! Let us show them true justice!"

The Schnee heiress got her meaning instantly, and at the possibility of payback, even her sensibilities were overridden."Yes, let's do this!"

Ruby also shot to her feet, as Nora combat-rolled over to join her. "Fools! We are the face of justice here - your false declarations will do you no good!" In moments, pillows were in hand all across the room, and all that stopped their flight was a certain air of expectation.

From his quiet spot on the sidelines, Ren sighed, and Blake closed her book with a snap. The martial artist moved forward, so that he stood between the warring sides, while RWBY's quietest member shifted their seats out of the line of fire. The martial artist moved the table with the game pieces out of the way, shuffling back a few steps, and then moved back to where he had been standing.

He coughed into his hand, then raised it into the air. A moment later, he brought it down in a chopping motion, snapping "Begin!" He then ran for his life, as a Nora-propelled pillow occupied the space which he had been standing in moments before.

It collided with Yang, who gnashed her teeth at the impact and returned fire, catching the shorter girl in the chest and knocking her backward. Ruby whipped her pillow around in an arc, cutting down a spinning pillow from Pyrrha before tossing her own into the air, taking careful aim, and driving her fist into it, sending it rocketing back toward the red-haired warrior. Weiss countered it with a graceful upward sweep, the pillow flying into the air, before a glyph appeared beside her, and propelled her own pillow considerably faster than Ruby's. The smaller girl braced for impact, but Jaune reached an arm in front of her, taking the blow on his own pillow.

He then threw that pillow to the now-recovered Nora, who took it in both hands and charged the opposition. She was met by Yang, and the two began to exchange blows, their power ramping up as they got into the swing of things. Ruby vanished in a flurry of petals, and she and Weiss began to dance around the room, glyphs appearing to propel the Schnee heiress even as Ruby spun her pillow around her. Jaune had managed to get his arm inside a pillow, and was fending off throw after throw from Pyrrha, as all six of them grinned like maniacs.

Off to the side, Ren was quietly rehearsing what he'd say to whichever staff member walked in here to see what all the noise was, while Blake just continued to read her book, both of them occasionally swaying to avoid a stray pillow.

* * *

Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, strode along the corridors of Beacon. He had finally found some spare time in his schedule, and wanted to check up on young Arc. The man intrigued him; he had used faked transcripts, but gone on to exhibit a skill level above many of his year. He also carried a famed name, and yet there had been absolutely no communication from his relatives relating to his enrollment. It was very strange, and so when Ozpin had heard that he was in the infirmary suffering from oddly severe aura depletion, he found a gap in his busy day where he could drop in to have a chat with him.

As he approached the double doors, the sounds of combat reached his ears; the crystalline ring that accompanied many semblances, the rush of air that indicated someone moving faster than normal human limits allowed for, as well as the constant beat of...fabric on fabric? He upped his pace, pushing open the doors to find complete and utter chaos.

Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose were moving so fast that neither was in the same place for a second, and in fact they seemed to vanish from one position and appear in another, taking a few swings at each other with pillows before moving on. Nora Valkyrie and Yang Xiao-Long were trading blow after blow with their own pillows, locked in a flurry of combat that was threatening to crack the linoleum beneath their feet. Jaune Arc was still lying on his bed, but his pillow-clad arm was shifting up and down constantly to intercept the seemingly endless supply of pillows that Pyrrha Nikos was bombarding him with. All six of them appeared to be suffering from a bout of insanity, if their smiles were anything to go by.

The Headmaster blinked as he watched, motion in the corner of his eye showing that Blake Belladonna and Lie Ren were seated quietly to the side of all the mayhem, one reading and one...praying? Possibly. Whatever they were doing, all eight were far too preoccupied to notice the door opening, and so Professor Ozpin stepped back out of the doorway. He hesitated for a moment, then fished inside his coat, producing a notepad and pen. He scribbled for a moment, then stuck the message to the doors with a pin as he pocketed his stationary. He then strode away back toward his office, his cane clicking on the floor as he left the 'Do Not Disturb' sign behind with a small smile.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **A chapter finished before it's even dark outside?! What manner of blasphemy is this?!**

 **I finally got my head together enough to write something without the risk of being comatose come morning, and this is what happened. It was, of course, inspired by the food-fight scene, and since this is my first attempt at something vaguely resembling comedy, I hope it wasn't too much of a rip-off.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review, and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	17. Chapter 17, Whispers in the Dark

There were, in Jaune's opinion, several different types of silence.

There was the awkward silence, which always stayed too long and never gave anything in return. There was the companionable silence, which never lasted long enough and always left a pang of longing. There was the shocked silence, which lasted longer than a human could conceive and less time than it took to realise what had happened.

These were all silences that Jaune had experienced in his life. They were familiar, and he knew where he stood with them.

But the silence that encompassed the distance between himself and Pyrrha Nikos? He had no idea what it was. It had been going on for hours, and had been getting heavier and heavier as that time went by.

Though the room was silent, his mind was not, and it spun question after question. What was he meant to do? Was he brave enough to try and break this silence? Should he wait for his partner to do it?

For the first time in the past three weeks, Jaune Arc found himself at a complete loss – he had no idea what to do. Even when the Deathstalker had already been freed, even when Ren had confronted him during training he had _known_ , to some degree, what to do. They might have been bad choices but he could at least _see_ the choices in front of him.

Now though, he couldn't see any choices. He could only hear silence, stifling in its intensity. It hung around him like a heavy shroud, muffling his thoughts.

 _This can't continue,_ he thought to himself, _I've been awake for five hours now, and I just_ know _Pyrrha's awake too. Something has to be done._

Step one, gather courage. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat until loins are sufficiently girded. Open mouth...

"Jaune? Are you awake?"

Oh that was just unfair. Jaune let out a noise which was somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle, tilting his head so that he faced his partner's bed. Even in the darkness of the infirmary, green eyes shone, and he locked on to them.

"Yes. I can't sleep – the silence is too loud." he replied. The green eyes bobbed, as if their owner was nodding.

"I know what you mean. I think we may have become a bit too accustomed to our sleeping conditions." came the reply. Jaune couldn't help but chuckle at that.

The 'sleeping conditions' Pyrrha was referring to certainly weren't normal. During their first week together, Ren had informed team JNPR of Nora's little...habit. Apparently, she was too energetic for even sleep to contain her, and she had a tendency to sleepwalk. She never left her room or anything, but it wasn't uncommon for members of their team to become unwitting teddy bears overnight.

Jaune had, of course, known about this. He had experienced it quite a few times during his first tenure at Beacon. Technically, he had also experienced the look on Pyrrha's face when she was woken by an alarm clock which had wrapped itself around her waist...but that didn't mean it had any less impact than the first time.

"Yeah, I suppose we have." Jaune folded his hands behind his head, thankful that the silence was retreating in the face of conversation.

"You know, it's amazing." began Pyrrha, laughter weaving in and out of her voice. "Three weeks ago I had never even considered sharing my bed with another person. Now, it's barely been a month, and yet it feels totally natural."

Jaune was sure his grin was visible even in the dark, and he felt laughter enter his own voice. "That's Nora for you. You can't help but become a part of her world – she's like a force of nature."

That really was the only way to describe their team mate – in combat and in regular life, Nora Valkyrie was an unstoppable force. Pyrrha's voice reached Jaune again, "Well, I suppose we'll have to try and get by without her for a night. I have to say, I prefer talking to silence...so what do you want to talk about, Jaune?"

The blonde considered the question. What did he want to talk about? He remembered that he wanted to ask his partner something earlier...ah, yes.

"Well, Pyrrha, I suppose I'd like to talk about the events of..." here he glanced at the clock, "yesterday afternoon. We were interrupted earlier."

 _And what an interruption it was,_ he thought idly. _I swear, I'm amazed they managed to clean up that many feathers before the matron came back_.

Pyrrha laughed, but Jaune couldn't help but feel it was a bit nervous. "I suppose we were."

The quiet returned, somehow distinguishable from the spaces between speech that indicated a conversation. At least this wasn't a silence like before. It was a pause full of thoughts and possibilities, as Jaune's partner turned something over in her mind. The blonde simply lay and waited for her to make a decision, watching the clock's hands.

The minute hand moved one increment closer to declaring three o'clock in the morning, and the quality of the silence changed. Jaune turned his head back to his partner, unsurprised to find that the green eyes were once again in evidence.

"Okay, Jaune. We can talk about it. What would you like to know?" Pyrrha's voice was confident. Resolute. Whatever decision she had come to, the red-haired warrior was going to stick to it.

"After my collapse," Jaune began, "there's mostly blank space – just empty time. But there are some different parts, like splashes of colour on a blank canvas. They don't make much sense, but when I think about them they trigger emotions." Blue eyes locked with green, and he didn't need to finish his sentence...but he did so anyway. "So, Pyrrha, what happened while our auras were linked?"

His partner's green eyes shifted slightly, as if their owner was holding themselves still. They vanished and reappeared in rapid succession, blinking furiously. Then a low sigh carried across the room, and the orbs settled. "The simple answer, Jaune, is a lot. The complicated answer is...frankly embarrassing."

Jaune felt one of his eyebrows rise at that. _Embarrassing? I can count on one hand the number of times Pyrrha's considered something embarrassing. Well, that certainly lends credence to my theory..._

The sounds of air moving again, though this time it was a deep breathe in as Jaune's partner steeled herself. "When I linked our auras, we underwent the unlocking ritual again." Jaune nodded to himself; he hadn't known of any other possible way to link two auras...well, except one he definitely wasn't _supposed_ to know about, and that definitely hadn't been in Forever Fall. "As we did, the emotional feedback that is normally experienced during unlocking happened again as well."

This wasn't surprising – Jaune could have predicted that happening. "However, instead of being instantly cut off, it just kept going...in effect, I spent two hours staring at your emotional state."

Eh?

It was Jaune's turn to blink rapidly, as he processed that. Pyrrha had...basically read his mind?

That gave rise to several emotions. Jaune could feel anger at the intrusion, embarrassment at what must have been revealed, pity for his partner who had basically been forced to stand in his shoes – or at least his in-souls. _Oh dear Monty...I think Yang just turned over in her bed_.

Green eyes watched as he sorted out the absolute mess his partner had just made of his relatively tidy mental state. The blonde decided that he would deal with each feeling individually, and then see what was left standing.

The anger faded first, put to rest by Jaune's reasoning that his partner hadn't done it on purpose. Nor had he been in any way harmed – quite the opposite, his life had been saved. Besides, there was a very short list of people in the world who he would have bared his soul to...and Pyrrha Nikos topped that list.

Embarrassment went almost alongside anger. The fact that Pyrrha was someone who Jaune trusted implicitly made it easy to handle, and Jaune turned his attention to the next.

Feeling bad for Pyrrha – that one was the most difficult to deal with. He contemplated leaving it be, but eventually logic did the job. Sure he might be in a pretty bad place...but Pyrrha was stronger than he was. If he could handle living like this, she could handle seeing it from the outside.

That left...a tiny spark of happiness, hidden deep beneath the tide of negativity. Flaring in the dark, as Jaune understood that Pyrrha now knew. If she hadn't before, then certainly she did now. She knew how he felt...and he was at least a little happy about that. Nervous to the point of freezing up, but happy nonetheless.

Back in control, blue eyes rose to meet green. "I see. Thank you, Pyrrha; that can't have been easy for you to come out with." Jaune marvelled at how expressive his partner's lungs were, as a huff from the next bed over answered his words.

"So...does this change anything?" Her quiet words drifted across the gap between them, and Jaune considered them. The blonde decided that his answer needed to be as impactful as possible...and an idea came to mind.

With a grunt of effort, JNPR's leader swung his legs out from under the bed's covers, and grabbed hold of the stand supporting the IV. It was almost empty; the glow of the dust infusion was easily visible in the low light, and the bag attached to it contained maybe a centimetre more. Still, the metal pole supporting it made for a handy walking stick as Jaune shuffled over to his partner's bed.

"Jaune! Jaune, what are you doing? You need to stay in bed!" Pyrrha's words were quiet, but frantic, even as the blonde ignored the burn in his muscles, and finally came to rest at the foot of her bed. He settled into a sitting position with a sigh of relief, turning to his red-haired partner. This close, he could make out her face, see the worry spread across it.

He reached out his left arm, finding Pyrrha's hand. He simply let his hand lie on hers, looking her in the eye to make sure he got his point across. "This only changes things if you want it to. No matter what happens, we will always be friends, and you will always be my partner. I suppose you know..." he choked a little on the words, "how...I feel...now." _For Monty's sake, she already knows...why is this so difficult?_

He managed to continue, "But whether or not that goes anywhere is entirely up to you. So long as I can stand with you, I don't care what the reasons are. All I want is to be near you."

The effort of the speech left the blonde exhausted, and he leaned forwards a bit as he wished his heart would slow down. He stayed like that for several minutes, just calming down, as he awaited his partner's response. Her hand was frozen under his, almost completely rigid. Jaune simply sat, and waited. He would wait forever, if need be, to get the answer to this question.

It felt like he did wait forever...if forever only constituted five minutes. At the end of that time, JNPR's leader felt the hand under his finally relax, before turning over to properly take hold of his own. "...I don't really know if this will work...if _we_ can work...but I think that I would like to try." Pyrrha's voice trembled a little, but by the end of the sentence it was as strong as always.

Jaune felt his heart rev up again, and the feeling of warm fingers on his own was the single most important thing in the world. He felt like he could walk on air, and he was certain that the grin on his face was visible even through the infirmary's curtains. He didn't trust himself to speak, and instead he gave his partner's hand a squeeze, before dragging himself back to his feet.

He didn't even notice the fatigue as he made his way back to the bed he'd come from; right now, Jaune Arc was the happiest man alive.

* * *

Glynda Goodwitch watched the two members of team JNPR settle back into bed, finally showing the signs of true unconsciousness moments later. The camera placed in the clock over the door was meant to catch students trying to steal medical supplies. However, she had decided to watch the feed live tonight – after all, she might be leaving his condition to JNPR for now, but Jaune Arc was still a figure of interest. She sighed to herself, leaning back in the chair she currently occupied.

 _This is ridiculous...I had thought that RWBY would be the most troublesome team I had to deal with this year, but JNPR is fast becoming just as large a nuisance..._

Glynda couldn't help but draw comparisons between the two. JNPR might not have RWBY's sheer combat prowess, but they excelled in terms of logistical, tactical and even intellectual power. Even Ms Valkyrie, who so often appeared ditsy, was consistently achieving highly positive results in her classes.

Yes, both teams were well ahead of their peers...and no matter which she looked to, she could see the resemblance to another team, from a very long time ago...

Glynda Goodwitch was not the kind to show needless emotion in front of others. But in the privacy of her office, with most of the school dead to the world, she didn't stop the pain that flashed across her face.

As she deactivated her scroll and went to bed, she could only hope that the children would outgrow the legacy they had taken upon themselves.

* * *

Professor Ozpin sat back in his office, the regular _clicks_ of the gears around him doing little to soothe his mind. He had been keeping an eye on the students, just as Glynda had – whilst keeping an eye on his most trusted confidant as well. He knew why she couldn't leave them be. But he also knew that this course could very well drag things into the light which ought to remain buried.

The symphony of passing time was interrupted by a sloshing of liquid, as the headmaster lifted his mug to his lips. The drink, normally his sustenance, did nothing to divert his mind. Instead, it brought back memories – memories of a time lost to the ages.

 _Time and Irony..._ he thought to himself, his left hand unconsciously adjusting his glasses. _You truly are the cruelest of mistresses._

And time ticked on around a figure in green and grey.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Sorry if this chapter is a bit weak; I'm a complete novice in love, so I'm basically making this up as I go. If you want a story with actual** _ **decent**_ **romance, I would suggest works such as** **FiercesomestDefenstrator's 'Catnip', or Coeur Al'Aran's 'One Good Turn Deserves Another'**

 **The other day I received a review from a 'Richard Fern the Dragonmaster' which highlighted a major fault in my writing – namely that I tend to drag on and on. This chapter is my first attempt at implementing a new style, one which will hopefully be easier to read. I would really appreciate you guys letting me know how it compares. (If it's much better, I might go back and re-format the chapters to date)**

 **Also, Holy Monty, we just passed 5K views! This is a real milestone for me, so I want to do something to commemorate it. What, you ask? Write something for RWBY of course! I'm going to be putting up a poll on my profile where you can vote on what kind of theme the piece will have. Drop by and cast a vote – I'd really appreciate it. Once I know what you guys want to see, I'll get to making it – I'll probably leave the poll for 4 days. The piece itself should then be completed within 2-3 days, since I want it to be a good length and well-made.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	18. Chapter 18, Overture

Jaune Arc was the single most bored man alive. Pyrrha had been discharged from the infirmary, and he had convinced her to go to classes with Ren and Nora. He knew she would still be processing the night before, so giving her space seemed like a good idea.

It probably was, too. For her anyway.

For Jaune on the other hand, it left him in an empty room with nothing to do. Sighing to himself, he looked over at the IV stand by the bed. The Dust solution it had contained was long gone, but after manifesting his aura when he woke that morning, he had found that it was holding steady.

He wasn't sure if it was combat ready, but it seemed that he was drawing aura from around him again. Certainly, his usual aura levels had held overnight. They hadn't changed at all in four hours, either. So he was probably more or less back to normal.

 _Normal. That's a dangerous word to throw about, Arc, even in your own head._ Jaune rubbed a hand through his own blonde hair, well aware of how powerful jinxing oneself could be. Knowing his luck, the world would equate 'normal' to...

Jaune scanned the empty room with a strange mix of suspicion and hope. That was a tempting line if ever there was one...

 _Oh come on, you're just going to let that one go?!_ the blonde exclaimed silently to the ceiling.

He settled back in to his pillow, sighing yet again. Four hours in to the day, and he was already contemplating suicide-by-Pyrrha/Goodwitch by leaving the bed. He knew better though – if he was going to get out of this bed, he would need a damn good reason for it. Something Pyrrha couldn't make him feel guilty over...

Pyrrha...Jaune couldn't help but break out in a massive smile whenever he thought of her. He'd (kind of) told her how he felt, and he wasn't dead! His heart hadn't stopped, she hadn't killed him, he hadn't fallen out a nearby window and no-one had interrupted them. It had been...better than he could have hoped for.

Plus, she was willing to try! To see if they could work together. That thought alone managed to tack another centimetre on to his smile.

Inspiration struck, and Jaune scanned the room quickly. He identified what he was looking for quickly; his possessions. Crocea Mors, his armour and his scroll were all behind the Matron's desk near the door. Said Matron was currently out and about, as she apparently was most of the time.

Jaune remembered that she had come in the previous night, to make sure no one was staying past visitor hours. Pretty average all around – average height, average build, average looks. A brunette with green eyes, she had seemed somewhere around fifty. Her authority, however, would have bent a steel bar.

RWBY, Ren and Nora had been summarily ejected from the room. Thankfully, the Matron hadn't noticed the slightly inflated clothing many of them had. _Stuffing their outfits with feathers was certainly a novel solution..._ Jaune knew that particular memory would be staying with him for a long time.

But since the Matron wasn't here...

Jaune swung his legs off the bed much as he had the previous night. He'd had roughly five hours of sleep the night before, but had caught an additional four once Ren and Nora turned up to take Pyrrha to class.

Thus rested, he was able to move with a fair approximation of normality. He was still tiring quickly, but he could shuffle along without the IV now. He reached the desk a minute later, and managed to retrieve his scroll. With the device in hand, he retreated the way he had come.

Settling back into bed with a sigh, Jaune activated the scroll. He was relieved to discover that it was fully charged, and he began to conduct a search of Vale's data cloud, a small smile on his face.

This was going to be good.

* * *

Pyrrha Nikos was the most conflicted woman, if not in the world, then certainly in Beacon. She sat with her team mates in Professor Port's Grimm Studies class, dutifully translating the old veteran's stories into notes...but her heart wasn't in it.

No, her heart was busy trying to decide if it wanted to fly or implode. Jaune had taken the news very well...in fact, he had taken it extraordinarily well. He'd actually used it as an opportunity to ask her... well, what had he really asked her?

She wasn't even entirely sure. All she knew for sure was that she had agreed to it, and that it made her happy. Even thinking about it brought a quiet smile to her lips, which didn't go unnoticed by her observant team mate.

Ren had seen the looks on both their faces that morning, and had also seen the looks they shared. Something had happened over the night which had his leader and Beacon's ace first year smiling like children. It hardly took a genius to figure out what.

Ren wore his own small smile that morning, just the ends of his lips ever so slightly upturned. _Well done, Jaune. Well done._

The martial artist turned to his partner, who was resting her chin on her hands with her eyes fixed on Professor Port. She was often like this in his classes; afterwards, it wasn't uncommon for the elder man's stories to end up mixed with her own. From the outside, most would think she'd fallen asleep with her eyes open...but to someone who knew her, she painted a very different picture.

Nora Valkyrie was wearing her own quiet smile...she just did it with her entire body. _Jaune is going to get such a hugging after classes..._ Ren sighed, shaking his head a bit as he turned his attention back to note-taking. To those who knew him, the resignation in his eyes was obvious.

 _I am stuck spending the day with two girls. One of them is in love, and one of them is probably happier that her friend is in love than her friend is. Jaune, I swear to Monty, if you don't get better soon I'm going to kidnap you and use you for a shield. I can't handle this!_

* * *

Jaune put his scroll down, having finally ended the first stage of his little project. The bell was about to go for lunch, so he carefully hid the device under his pillow.

The operation must remain completely confidential until the perfect moment. Until then...

Beacon's familiar bell rang out, and even in this quiet part of the school Jaune could hear the thunder of moving feet. He simply lay back and let the sound wash over him, a cacophony of barely-controlled chaos. He'd become used to it by now, having participated in many of those mad dashes himself.

He had only been laying there for around a quarter of an hour when the infirmary door was slowly pushed open, revealing NPR and RWBY. The seven friends each carried trays of their own, a wide range of foods being in evidence, while Nora was also carrying an extra. That tray went to a grateful Jaune, who had an appetite despite spending the day in bed.

"So, Jaune, how are you feeling?" It was Ren who had spoken, and Jaune turned to look at him between bites of sandwich. The martial artist's eyes didn't match the smile on his face. He looked like a man who was staring into the abyss, and contemplating if he would die before he hit the bottom. Jaune understood immediately, and just about managed to keep the sympathy out of his voice.

"I'm doing well Ren, pretty sure I'm fine to get out of here now." Pink eyes shuttered in relief, even if the martial artist's face didn't shift.

"That's really good news, Jaune. I don't suppose you've seen the Matron so we can get permission for her to discharge you?" The blonde was about to answer in the negative, but Pyrrha got there before him.

"Ren, we can't have him discharged just yet. He's only just recovering from a near-death experience, a day isn't enough time to recover from something like that." Next to her, Ruby nodded. Swallowing a mouthful of milk and cookies, she backed up the red-haired warrior.

"Yeah! We don't want him to hurt himself again!" Jaune could almost feel his freedom (and Ren's sanity) slipping away...but help came in the unlikeliest of forms.

"Actually, Ruby, he should be fine. All the medical equipment says so, and since he's obviously been wandering about, there's evidence to support his own assessment." Jaune froze as Blake finished speaking, slowly turning to face his partner, who was gritting her teeth.

"Jaune...why did you leave your bed?" Oh Monty. Jaune scrambled to think of something, even as Ruby and Weiss scrambled to move themselves out of their red-haired friend's way. The edge of his scroll seemed to dig in to his back. His mission needed to remain confidential for now, it wasn't ready for first contact!

"I...saw a bird." Jaune spoke the line with as much sincerity as he could conjure, trying to make himself believe it. While no one actually slapped their palm against their forehead, the collective urge to do it was tangible. Yang, who was standing behind Pyrrha and so was out of her view, was laughing silently at her fellow blonde's plight.

"...A bird." Pyrrha repeated. It only took one glance at her face for Jaune to know she wasn't buying it. She was going to stand up in a moment, and then things were just going to snowball from there...

"Alright, alright. The actual reason I was walking was because I was incredibly bored." Jaune felt like high-fiving himself. _Hah! It's actually not a lie, but it isn't the whole truth either! Nice one brain!_

The red-haired warrior settled back down, but her eyes quickly scanned Jaune, his bed and then the room they were in. "Ah. I suppose I can understand that..." Jaune let out an internal sigh of relief, which he had no doubt was immediately noticed by Ren. _Probably Blake as well,_ his mind offered.

The faunus girl was far too adept at observation. Having one ninja in his inner circle was enough!

"But anyway. As Blake so kindly pointed out, there's nothing really wrong any more. I'm fine to go back to class." Green eyes and blue locked, one pair searching and one pair reassuring. Pyrrha leaned back and nodded slowly.

"Okay. You can come with us to class...but you are _not_ taking part in sparring today, am I clear?" Jaune lifted his hand in a salute, doing his best to stand at attention from a seated position.

"Yes ma'am!"

* * *

Jaune was beginning to wonder if getting discharged had been such a good idea. There were still five hours left in the school day, and two-and-a-half of those hours would be spent in Oobleck's class. They were currently waiting for the good doctor to make his appearance, Jaune's fingers tapping a drum beat on the wood of the desk.

Pyrrha, who was seated beside him, didn't even seem to notice the sound. She was burying herself in the textbook in front of her, trying desperately to clear her mind.

 _How can he sit there so casually?_ she wondered, even as her eyes drifted back over to him. _How can he be so calm, after last night?_ She was still looking when the blonde turned to look at her, and she froze. She was graced with a smile, and she couldn't help but return it.

Returning to her textbook, Pyrrha tried to simply ignore the fact that her pulse was most definitely above normal. Her eyes, however, kept slipping from the pages, drifting around the room as her focus shifted. _I need something to take my attention away from Jaune..._

They alighted upon RWBY, who were seated in benches level with JNPR but to their left. That made it easier to look at them – since she didn't have to look past Jaune, who was rather distracting at the moment.

Pyrrha was surprised to find that Yang was looking right back at her, a strange grin on her face. When she knew the red-haired warrior was looking, she started looking back and forth between her and Jaune, the grin remaining in place.

Understanding her meaning immediately, Pyrrha buried the instinctive blush response. _Why should I be embarrassed? That's simple, I shouldn't._ So, instead of catering to the blonde's whims, the red-haired warrior gave her a small smirk.

Blinking in surprise, Yang would probably have accepted the challenge and raised the ante, if not for the arrival of Doctor Oobleck. As he seemed to almost pop into existence at his desk and open his textbook, the class buckled in for the high-speed pursuit that was keeping up with their teacher.

Pyrrha spared one last glance for Ruby's older sister, and received a frankly terrifying smile in return. Yang Xiao-Long was not one to let things go...and she was most certainly not going to let this chance pass her by.

Pyrrha Nikos, veteran of the most grueling training Mistral could provide, shivered.

* * *

Two and a half hours, or approximately five hours' worth of history, later, JNPR made its way out of Oobleck's class room and toward the training room. All of them walked quite slowly, ostensibly because they were tired – but mostly for their leader's sake. The blonde might have been capable of walking, but he wasn't going at any kind of decent speed.

It was this reduced mobility which allowed RWBY to catch them, and Pyrrha quickly found that her team mates were otherwise engaged in conversation. Ruby was walking beside Jaune, the two of them apparently discussing how modern weaponry would have changed the scenarios of the battle which they had just learned about.

Ren and Blake were making spirited attempts not to be involved in anything, but Nora was making that a veritable impossibility. Weiss had her scroll out, and was seemingly responding to messages she had received while in class.

That left the red-haired warrior completely defenseless when Yang strolled up beside her, settling in to her pace as they walked somewhat behind their team mates. "I might not be a ninja like your friend over there, but I know a thing or two about people. So, which one of you finally got up the courage to tell the other?" The question was asked quietly enough not to carry forward.

Pyrrha tried valiantly to prevent the flush which was trying to climb up her neck. _There is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. Just because he's your first crush doesn't mean you should act like a girl half your age!_ "He did." she replied. The blonde beside her raised an eyebrow, whistling lowly.

"Now _that_ I didn't expect. Don't get me wrong, Jaune's a good guy, and a great leader...but I didn't think he had the stones for that." Pyrrha wasn't at all sure what to make of that straightforward assessment, but she didn't appreciate her...partner...being dissed like that.

"Well I guess you underestimated him then." _Oh Monty, why am I being so snippish? I'm not normally like this!_ Apparently Yang agreed, because she almost lost a step.

"Damn, Red, I guess you've got it bad, huh?" Try as she might, Pyrrha could feel her cheeks heating up a little. It was more than enough for a social butterfly like Yang though, who let out a small sigh.

"Oh yeah, _real_ bad. Pardon me for asking, but you haven't had much to do with this before, have you?" Not trusting herself to speak, Pyrrha simply shook her head as a reply. Yang nodded her own head thoughtfully, considering what she knew.

"Alright. I'm gonna go ahead and say you didn't rebuff him, since he's currently walking and has neither broken legs nor a broken heart." That was a fair assessment. "That being the case, I'm also gonna say that you have very little idea of what's going on. Right so far?"

Alternatively damning and thanking her life for surrounding her with so many people who could apparently read her mind at will, Pyrrha simply nodded again.

"Okay then. Tonight, you're coming over to our dorm. I know a thing or two about the dating game, and between the five of us Arc won't even know what hit him." Not even waiting for confirmation, the brawler walked forward to catch up with her little sister, immediately accusing Jaune of trying to steal her away.

Chuckling at her partner's panicked cries, Pyrrha let what had just happened run through her mind. _I guess I'm getting dating advice from Yang Xiao Long now...Monty help me._

* * *

Jaune had noticed Yang hanging back to speak with his partner as they left History, but he still wasn't entirely sure what that had been about. Pyrrha had come out of the exchange somewhere between resigned and hopeful, and that contrast was beyond his ability to figure out.

Deciding that better men than he had tried to solve the mysteries of women and failed, Jaune turned his attention to the notebook in front of him. He had sketched a map of Vale, and was trying to recall as many of the White Fang Dust heists as he could, noting down any that he thought of. _They needed all that Dust for the Breach incident that RWBY stumbled on to...if we can stop their robberies, then we can at least postpone that._

After detailing the rough dates and locations of about seven heists, his mind was beginning to run dry. _What I would give for a photographic memory right now..._

Sighing, he sat back in his chair, glancing up at the screen detailing aura levels. Russel Thrush was locked in combat with someone Jaune didn't recognise, the two whaling on each other. There was very little technique – just brute strength.

Jaune's next sigh was more disgusted than tired, as he waved a hand through the place were Crocea Mors would have been sheathed if he had it. But of course, his sword had been returned to his locker in accordance with the school rules. Why those rules had left it in the infirmary with him, he didn't understand.

The complete lack of finesse being shown reminded him a lot of how he had used to be. A sword was nothing more than a metal stick in unskilled hands, and his had been truly unskilled. Not even a year of training with Pyrrha had managed to really fix that...

A flash of memory struck as Jaune recalled the feeling of uselessness that had descended on him in the wake of Beacon's fall. His hands clenched around the edge of the surface in front of him, which had so recently supported his writing. Knowing what he now did about aura, and that this outburst would definitely not be good for his, Jaune carefully started breathing in and out, slowly calming down.

 _Remember Jaune, it didn't happen now. All that remains of that time is in your mind. It can't hurt you, but you can use it – so calm down, and act like a leader._ The blonde managed to get his head back in gear, and the fists he had formed unclenched. A minute passed, and Jaune managed to reach the quiet state of mind he used when training his aura. His perceptions ratcheted up, and Jaune could feel the excess aura drifting away.

He hadn't drawn much, thank Monty. His hands opened fully once his aura had returned to normal...allowing more than a few lengths of wood to fall from between his fingers.

 _Ah._ Looking up, Jaune found that Ren was staring at him with narrowed eyes. JNPR's leader gave his friend a thumbs-up, before brushing off his hands and inspecting the damage. He had apparently exerted more pressure on the wood than it deigned to handle, and there were depressions in the surface where his fingers had been.

That had broken the coating on the wood, leading to a trail of miniscule fractures leading from a point where the wooden surface had splintered. It was less damaged than the wall in their bathroom, but it was also in a more noticeable place.

Jaune scanned the area, trying to see if anyone had noticed. His team had, obviously; Pyrrha was giving him a worried look, Ren was still scrutinising him and Nora was frowning ever so slightly...but also giving him a thumbs up for the destruction.

Apart from them, he couldn't see any signs of having been observed, so he relaxed back in to his seat. Ren leaned over to him, talking quietly.

"You handled that well. However, I think that we need to deal with your emotions before we do any advanced training with your aura." The blonde nodded silently. He knew the need for him to have some self-control just as much as his team did. _I can't change things if I kill myself trying_.

Satisfied that his team leader understood, the martial artist settled back to watching the end of the uninteresting duel which had been going on in the background. Nora settled with him, leaving Pyrrha to place her fingers lightly on her partner's.

Grateful for the contact, Jaune shifted his hand so that their fingers were entwined, and muttered a "Thank you." under his breath.

Pyrrha smiled, but didn't say anything. But she was suddenly feeling a lot more optimistic about her meeting later that day.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **And yet another chapter where nothing truly happens. Mostly just groundwork here... still, it should all prove useful in time.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	19. Chapter 19, A Colonel's Campaign

Sparring went a lot quicker than Jaune had expected. On reflection, it was probably because he had focussed more on the feeling of warm fingers in his than he had on the actual bouts.

The bell signifying the end of lessons for the day called all the students to their feet, and the blonde relinquished his partner's digits to help push himself up. Once he was vertical, he led his team down the tiered desks toward the door.

The large presence approaching from the left telegraphed itself long before it got near him. The loss of a simple step kept the blonde out of the space which the auburn-haired figure had been aiming for, and Cardin simply kept walking.

Jaune frowned. That attempt had been in no way subtle...but it was far less than CRDL's leader normally attempted. Even if he'd run into the blonde, the odds of him actually falling over would have been minimal.

Blue eyes looked back over a massive shoulder and met Jaune's own. The blonde's frown deepened as the contact was cut off, even as the hulking figure moved forward with his team. _Normally Cardin looks like he'd rather eat a Grimm than interact with me...so what was that?_

His thoughts were interrupted by the need for him to keep up with his friends, as RWBY had just combined with JNPR. The eight-strong group made its way to the dining hall...though Jaune noticed that his partner was shooting glances at Yang from time to time.

 _What on Remnant were they talking about earlier..._

A lot of possibilities sprung to mind, though most of them were discounted as too fantastical. A lot of them were still spinning around up there by the time the group reached the dining hall, but they were discarded in favour of sustenance.

One fully loaded tray later, Jaune settled down at a table alongside RWBY and NPR. The incident in the classroom hadn't curbed Nora's energy in the slightest, and she was talking at Ren about what could be done with the massive pile of feathers currently taking up space in the JNPR and RWBY dorms.

Ruby had apparently decided to pitch in, and ideas were flowing thick and fast. Jaune decided that he didn't want to know after he caught the words 'full-scale Nevermore', and instead turned his attention to his other side. Pyrrha was eating more slowly than usual, her eyes far away as the knife and fork moved robotically.

Yang was trying to read over Blake's shoulder, and a Huntress-level game of keep away was just waiting to happen. Weiss had apparently realised that, because she was in the process of moving her meal next to Ruby for some measure of safety.

 _I don't need God-given future knowledge to know where this is going_ , the blonde thought to himself. "Pyrrha, scoot up a little will you? Yang and Blake are at it again." The red-haired warrior didn't respond for a few seconds, just moving her cutlery between the plate and her mouth.

Jaune waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Remnant to Pyrrha? You okay there partner?" With a start, Pyrrha turned to face the blonde.

"Jaune? Oh, I see. We should probably move." Calling to Ren and Nora that they should probably move up a bit, JNPR shuffled a couple of seats sideways.

Just in time too. The seats where they had just been were suddenly occupied by Yang, as she made a spirited grab for Blake's literature and got nothing but air. As Yang rolled back to her feet, Jaune recognised the eager grin on her face. He could see traces of a similar one on Blake's features as well.

"Alright Blake, I'm going to win tonight!". Letting out an exaggerated sigh, RWBY's quietest member closed her book.

"Don't flatter yourself. You'll _try_." Banter complete, Yang started grabbing for the book while her partner kept it out of reach. They jumped back and forth over the table, occasionally moving under it as their friends watched on with a spread of amusement and resignation.

"They do this every other day...don't they get enough exercise in training?" Jaune directed his question to Ruby, who scratched her head with a nervous smile.

"Ah, well, we don't get a lot of time for training...Yang tends to lose focus part-way through her homework and wander off. Then we have to wait for her to get back so we can force her to finish it..."

The blonde nodded wisely. "I understand perfectly." He actually did too. Nora was much the same, often doing her homework in fits of frenzied activity. The only way to get her through it in one sitting was to sit Ren next to her as a reminder. It was high quality work whichever way she did it, but it played merry hell with their training schedule.

"It's incredibly irritating. You'd think someone studying to be a Huntress would manage to keep their attention on one thing for an hour or two." That comment came from Weiss, who was watching her team mates with the kind of resigned depression that Ren had practically trademarked.

It was probably for the best that the Schnee heiress was focussed on Yang and Blake, since Ruby flushed bright red at that. Jaune raised an eyebrow, and the younger girl muttered something about history needing more pictures.

"Well, so long as it gets done." Jaune commented cheerily, sipping from the mug of fruit juice he'd acquired. A long-suffering sigh emanated from the white-haired girl as she turned away from the now blurring limbs further down the table.

"I suppose you're right." Jaune raised his mug to her, his eyes moving back to his partner, who had gone back to being silent. In fact, she had also gone back to eating like a robot. Green eyes stared into the middle distance, obviously not actually seeing what was in front of them.

Jaune shook his head, turning back to the Schnee heiress. "Weiss, I don't suppose you know what Pyrrha and Yang were talking about earlier? She's been acting strange ever since." The girl seemed about to reply, but the red-haired warrior beside Jaune had snapped back to reality in seconds.

"Nothing! We weren't talking about anything, Jaune, it was a perfectly normal conversation with no real focus!" Considering the volume and force with which she had delivered that line, Jaune sincerely doubted that.

Of course, that didn't change the fact that his partner obviously didn't want it discussed. "Right. Not talking about anything. Got it." JNPR's leader cleared his throat. "So, you can probably sit back down now."

Jaune's partner blinked...and quickly came to the realisation that she was, in fact, standing over her leader. A quick glance showed that more than a few pairs of curious eyes were pointed in her direction, and the warrior sat down with a cough.

"Well. So long as you understand that." Apparently content to leave the situation at that, Jaune's partner went back to her dinner...and found that she had already finished it. That fact was not lost on the blonde, who was frowning slightly.

 _That...is very unlike Pyrrha._ Jaune had spent most of a year in her company, and knew how she responded to things. He had seen his partner angry, sad, happy, embarrassed and nervous. But he had never seen her like that.

He wondered if this was a result of his impromptu confession the other night. After all, he had found himself acting differently around her when he'd returned to this time. If he thought about it, he'd started to think of her differently just hours after...

Another rush of emotion, but he knew what he was doing this time. Jaune fixed his eyes on his partner, focussing on nothing but the aura he could feel swelling. He turned back the tide almost as soon as it reached him, ignoring the pricking in his now clenched hand that told him he'd successfully kept his reserves constant.

A quiet crack, almost inaudible in the constant low-level noise of the dining hall. The blonde looked down and cursed, pupils darting to the corners of his eyes to see if anyone had noticed. Ren had, obviously, but thankfully it seemed that Pyrrha was otherwise occupied. Jaune quickly stood, taking his tray with him as he headed for the drop-off area.

He was joined en-route by the dark-haired martial artist, who fell into step with him. "Jaune...that's twice in one day." The blonde shook his head, his tray rattling slightly.

"Second flash of memory. Didn't draw aura this time." Closer inspection of the tray revealed Jaune's mug, the handle now broken off, alongside a few drops of blood.

"Though I don't condone self-harm, I still have to say that this is probably a good thing." Chuckling at the comment, JNPR's leader dropped the ruined mug into the bin below the tray shelf.

"Yeah. I just looked at Pyrrha, and it grounded me enough to let me focus." Jaune felt a pat on his shoulder as his friend smiled.

"That's a good start. If you have something that works to keep you calm, then we can build your self-control around that." The two young men left their trays for cleaning, heading back over to their friends.

As they reached the table, the black-and-yellow blurs that represented half of team RWBY came to a gradual halt, both panting. Blake still had her book in hand, but Yang seemed to have run out of energy with which to pursue it.

"You win...this time..." the brawler managed to gasp, hands on her knees as she collapsed onto a seat.

"Told...you..." replied her opponent, who mimicked her partner and let gravity carry her down.

Their team leader walked forward, presenting two trays which Jaune hadn't realised she'd salvaged. "You guys want the rest of your dinner?"

As Blake took the trays from the younger girl and Yang thanked her profusely, Jaune and Ren took their seats once again. "So, what's everyone doing tonight?" asked JNPR's leader, eyes sweeping the table.

Pyrrha seemed to go a bit rigid beside him, and Jaune turned to her in confusion. "Oh, Red's gonna be spending the evening with us. I invited her over for a study session." Yang's voice reached her fellow blonde before he could ask his partner what was wrong, and the rigidity vanished immediately.

"Yes, I'll be in RWBY's dorm for a while tonight. Unless you guys need me for something?" Jaune shook his head, leaning forward to check with Ren. Getting an identical motion from the martial artist, he waved away his partner's question.

"Nah, you're good Pyrrha. Our homework's already done for this week, so the three of us'll log some time in the training room. I have a few ideas I want to work on." The partners smiled at each other, though the red-haired warrior turned away after a few moments.

"Right then, I hope it's productive." Since JNR had finished eating, Jaune gestured for his two other team mates to follow as he stood.

"We'll see you later, 'kay Pyrrha? Study hard you guys!" The blonde headed off toward the training rooms, Nora skipping ahead of him at the prospect of sparring. Ren walked alongside his leader, caught between resignation to his fate and interest in what they'd be doing.

Once the trio had cleared the dining hall, Yang leaned in to the centre of the table conspiratorially. "Alright team, let's head back to the dorm. We have a group project." Pyrrha buried her head in her hands as Ruby, Weiss and Blake all looked to their overeager blonde friend curiously.

She might need the help, but she just _knew_ she was going to regret this.

* * *

Jaune stood in front of his two team mates, hands behind his back and a serious look fixed on his face. "Friends! We are here today for the most important training we will ever undergo!"

He began to march up and down...though admittedly, marching seemed to suggest he was taking more than two steps in either direction. "Today, we consolidate the bonds of friendship with the ultimate bonding exercise!"

Coming to a halt, the blonde pointed to the empty space between his two friends. Ren was standing ramrod straight, wondering where on Remnant his leader was going with this. Beside him, Nora was almost vibrating in anticipation.

"Combination attacks!"

Nora reacted first, immediately tackling Ren with a resounding "YES!" The martial artist barely even seemed to notice the sudden addition of a Nora necklace, a listless expression having overtaken his face.

"...combination attacks?" he asked, not quite seeming to comprehend.

Jaune nodded seriously, his finger lowered. "Yes, combination attacks! It is simple logic; pre-defined moves that can be executed by multiple team members. By setting these in training and naming them, a team leader can deliver instructions at a more rapid pace. They are, in fact, essential!"

Impassioned speech complete, the blonde stoically accepted his own hug from Nora, who had moved from 'excited' to 'giddy'. Ren seemed to be struggling with something, and he raised his hand. "Yes Ren?"

Clearing his throat, the martial artist raised his right hand and index finger. "Jaune, we have been a team for barely three weeks. Why are we doing this now?"

The blonde smiled. "I'm doing this now because we're ready for it. You work with Nora like two halves of the same warrior because of how well you know each other. I was Pyrrha's partner for a year and she's Pyrrha freaking Nikos, so the two of us can work off each other as well."

The blonde didn't seem to notice Ren's raised eyebrow, which worked to indicate that there was more to their fluid combat partnership than just that. Nora had released her leader, and was now happily skipping around the room with the occasional outburst of "Yes!"

Jaune continued, "We've been working, sleeping, fighting and occasionally collapsing together for the past three weeks. I say we can handle this." The martial artist's raised eyebrow remained in place, catching the blonde's attention.

A few seconds passed, but eventually JNPR's captain muttered "...and I want us to be doing it before RWBY." Ren sighed, the driving force behind the decision made clear.

"Alright, Jaune. I suppose you make a legitimate point. How do we start?"

Confidence restored, Jaune returned to his military stance. Nora took up her original position, and what Jaune probably thought was a serious expression made its way onto his face.

"We start with names!"

As Nora began reeling off suggestions and his leader started scribbling them down on a notepad, Ren couldn't help but wish he'd volunteered to join that 'study session'.

* * *

Pyrrha really wished she'd gone to the training with her team.

RWBY had dragged her along in its wake back to their dorm, Yang leading the charge. She hadn't said a word since the dining hall, and the expectation emanating from Ruby was palpable. And audible.

Blake and Weiss seemed interested too, but they didn't seem willing to resort to hanging from Yang's shoulders and pleading. "Pleeeeease sis?"

Yang turned her head a bit to look at her little-sister cape. "Ruby, we're just outside the dorm. Everything will soon become clear." Having successfully driven her sister to even greater heights of pleading, the blonde pressed her scroll to the pad by the door.

As the sisters moved inside, Blake made an after-you gesture to Pyrrha, who stepped forward with growing trepidation. The room beyond was dark until Yang activated the lights, revealing what was probably the most physically improbable pair of bunk beds the warrior had ever seen.

She stared at the constructions, words failing as she tried to ask. The Schnee heiress beside her had apparently seen that look before. "We did it in about twenty seconds on our first day. We don't remember what exactly we did, and we don't want to know."

The red-haired warrior looked to the amber-eyed girl next to her, who shrugged. "I worry that they'll collapse if we think about it too much. So...just roll with it?" With that less than stellar advice, Blake moved forward to take a seat on her bunk.

Yang was already seated there, Ruby opposite her. Weiss took a seat next to her partner, leaving Pyrrha the only one standing. The overwhelming urge to simply shoulder charge her way through the door and out of the building was making itself known, and the red-haired warrior took deep breaths to try and avoid property damage.

"Right then. Now that we have some privacy...Red, how about you tell us why we're here?" Green eyes locked with lilac, which held just as much of a grin as the mouth below them. _I think I've been outmatched..._ the warrior thought to herself, as she fought to get the words past her lips.

"I...might – no, I _definitely_...like...Jaune." Oh Monty, she'd actually said it.

The reactions around the room were...interesting. Yang, who had already known, simply gave her a thumbs-up for managing to say it out loud. Ruby, on the other hand, was looking at her with widening eyes. Then suddenly there were rose petals on the bed, and a girl wrapped around the warrior's waist.

"Oh that is awesome!" she exclaimed, as Pyrrha felt herself being spun around by the younger girl. "We've been watching you two for so long, but you actually noticed!" The spinning finally stopped, and green eyes were finally able to focus on the silver orbs looking up at her.

Her attention was diverted by Weiss, who was crossing her legs and nodding to herself. "Indeed, the looks you two gave one another when you thought no one else was watching...I swear, I was beginning to think your were willfully oblivious."

The red-haired girl looked to the only person who had remained silent so far...and got a knowing smirk in return. "...I'm not sure if I should feel better or worse that you all noticed." Her nerves were fading fast, any worries she might have had slipping away at the complete lack of impact her confession had carried.

The blonde girl laughed happily, variations of the sound emanating from around the room. "Well, it's your feelings we're here for. Okay team, Pyrrha's got an admission out of tall, blonde and scraggly – so we're going to take her through the next steps."

Pyrrha felt the room spinning again as the girl who was still hugging her began to twirl again. "You actually got a confession?! Oh that is just perfect! When? Where? How?" The questions just added to the dizziness the red-haired girl felt building up, and she staggered slightly as Yang pulled her little sister away.

"Okay, that's enough fawning Ruby. But yeah Red, spill the beans! How'd it go down?"

And just like that, the nerves were back.

Pyrrha's normally confident tones were usurped by the flush she could feel moving up her neck. _Oh Monty dammit, I'm a Huntress in training! How difficult can talking about a crush be?_ Shaking her head and trying to push through it, the warrior settled down on the nearest bunk. It happened to be Weiss', so the Schnee heiress moved up a bit to give her space.

"Well, there's not much to tell. Last night, while we were both in the infirmary, neither of us could sleep. We were just laying there for hours on end, and I eventually started a conversation to break the silence." Despite the boring beginning, Pyrrha noticed that all four of the room's occupants were leaning forward like she was revealing the secrets of the universe.

"We spoke for a while and...well, you remember what happened in Forever Fall?" All four nodded in sync, the incident still recent. "Well, there's a story behind what happened that I can't talk to you about – not on my own, at least. But the conversation turned to that..." Pyrrha took a breath, settling herself. It didn't go unnoticed, but no one interrupted.

"I...did something, to Jaune, which would break most friendships. I was so scared to tell him, because I thought I might lose him if I did..." Another steadying breath, four sets of creased brows as RWBY wondered what the girl before them would or could possibly have done to her leader.

"But he just listened. He listened, and then he dragged himself out of his bed and walked over to me. You know he actually used his IV stand as a walking stick? Hours after nearly dying, he pulls himself across to me because he wants to make a point." It had been terrifying for a moment, as if the blonde had collapsed she would have been in no shape to help.

The frowns she had caused before had vanished now, replaced with small smiles. It was a very Jaune thing to do. "He just sat down on my bed, looking like death warmed over. He...took my hand..." The pauses now were to suppress the blush that was fighting a war with her self-control.

"And he told me...that he didn't care. He told me that all he wanted was to stay with me, that he didn't even need me to feel like he did so long as he could have that." It might not have been his words, but it was the meaning behind them. The smiles had grown larger now, as they recognised the determined but conscientious young man who had been a part of their lives for the past month.

With most of it out in the open, talking about it didn't seem so embarrassing, and the warrior found herself smiling too. "So I told him I'd try...and the smile on his face – oh, it was so goofy." She couldn't help but laugh as she remembered the expression the blonde had worn when she told him that.

With the conclusion of her story, her four listeners sat back. All of them were nodding to themselves. It was all...very Jaune. "Well, I think we can all say it fits the man." Yang began, rising to her feet, "He demonstrated great courage, so we will treat him as a worthy adversary. First, let us take back the initiative! Assistant Ruby, my scroll!"

The device was placed in the blonde's hand a moment later, and she immediately opened it. "Weiss, you're on fashion! Blake, you're on dialogue! I'll deal with venue, and Ruby!" Standing to attention in front of her sergeant-major sister, the younger girl delivered a salute.

"Yes!"

"You will be in charge of information gathering – I want everything you can get!" A flurry of rose petals met the announcement, the door left open in the young leader's wake.

Pyrrha was left slightly dazed as Blake left the room and closed the door behind her, saying she was headed to the library. Weiss had opened her own scroll and taken a picture of Pyrrha. She then moved to one of the chest-of-drawers, comparing the image she had to the clothes contained within.

The blonde demon who had started all this laid a hand on the red-haired girl's shoulder, her grin terrifying. "Trust me, Red – by the time we're done here, Jaune won't even know what hit him."

Looking up to a face which Ren would recognise and immediately run from in terror, Pyrrha couldn't help but think she was probably right.

She just hoped they'd leave her leader in enough pieces to put him back together afterwards.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **That's fin for now. Being of the male persuasion, I have difficulty trying to imagine what a conversation like this would be like. All the experience I can draw on is either from stories, anime (which I take with a large pinch of salt) and the female members of my friend group. So...if I messed up, sorry...? Speaking of anime, can anyone guess which show inspired that scene in the middle? I'll give you a clue: miniskirts.  
**

 **In case you're interested (and somehow haven't noticed yet), I've started another RWBY story called Gloria Dei est in Tenebris. It's an OP Jaune piece which I'm planning as I write it. It won't be updated as frequently as this, but check it out if that's your thing.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	20. Chapter 20, Morale Compass

Jaune stood outside the JNPR dorm, trying to understand why he was spending the evening alone.

He, Ren and Nora had been returning from a successful combination attack training session, which he felt was already showing great promise. _Flower Power...honestly, what was I thinking..._

However, almost as soon as they had exited the training room, the solemn martial artist had been kidnapped. A flurry of rose petals, and a garbled call of "HeyJauneI'mborrowingRenokaythanksbye!" had descended on the trio and suddenly there were two.

Not even Nora had known what to make of that, and the duo had headed back to their dorms after trading confused looks. They'd been just outside their own room when RWBY's door opened, and Nora was dragged inside like something out of a horror movie before the door slammed shut.

Now, the blonde was the only member of his team left standing...and thinking about it hadn't helped in the slightest. As he pressed his scroll against the door, he grumbled to himself. "I'm a year of Beacon training ahead of these guys, a time-traveller who's spoken with God, and I _still_ don't understand women."

He sighed to himself in the dark room beyond, flipping the lights on. It was only just turning nine... _might as well get some homework done._

* * *

The only sound was the scratch of pencil on paper. An essay on the correct tactics to employ when dealing with a Deathstalker had gradually taken shape over the past three hours, in readiness for presentation two days in the future.

"Look on the bright side Jaune, at least Oobleck's homework is done." the blonde muttered to himself, even as he reached for an eraser.

Still, this was taking time out from what he really needed to be doing – planning the fall of the White Fang and Roman Torchwick. The dust user, he reasoned, would reveal herself once her pawns had been removed from the board.

But dealing with such colossal threats required planning, and planning required time. Time which he was instead using to prove that he knew how to deal with a Deathstalker. _Because apparently killing one wasn't enough._

With a disgusted sigh, the blonde kicked away from his desk. The essay was almost finished – he could stand to take a walk.

JNPR's leader crossed to the door, checking he had his scroll before pulling it open and making his way outside. Faint voices and laughter could be heard through the nearby door, and Jaune resisted the urge to check in on his partner.

 _It's only RWBY...there's no reason for her to need my help. Besides, she has Nora._ The blonde stopped in his tracks. That thought was the most convincing reason to check on Pyrrha yet. _They've been in there since dinner...just what are they studying?_

He resisted the urge however, and set off. A minute's walk led him to the courtyard, and he cast his eyes around for somewhere to go. Deciding on a circuit of the academy, his feet carried him on the circular route that he'd made use of on more than one sleepless night.

Beacon's campus was quite shadowy at night. Light spilled from the various buildings, yes, but apart from that the only source of illumination was the broken moon. It was enough to go on though, so Jaune just put one foot in front of the other as thoughts swirled in his mind.

He had managed to get himself back under control this afternoon. But on the flip side, he'd been set off by watching a duel. That had been all it took to bring back the bad times – Russel Thrush had managed to hurt him more than Cardin ever had, without even looking at him.

That turned his thoughts to CRDL. Their ordeal on the wrong end of a Rapier Wasp swarm had now healed, meaning they were back on the board. How many players were there at this point? The blonde couldn't be sure any more. His knowledge of the future, he was learning, didn't contain many details. His attempts to map out the Dust heists had told him that.

It made planning difficult, and with the difficulty of the missions already being so ridiculous the lack of information was even more noticable.

His thoughts were interrupted by a hand settling on his shoulder.

Breaking the hold instantly with a rapid turn, the blonde shot backwards to give himself distance.

Coming to a halt a good couple of metres away, Jaune looked to the person who had startled him so.

They were shadowy...but a moment later, they stepped forward into a pool of moonlight, revealing auburn hair and blue eyes.

"Arc...we need to talk."

* * *

 _Earlier That Night..._

* * *

Cardin Winchester stood atop the Beacon Dormitories, and he thought. Not something most associated with him...and yet, one of his most common pastimes. His thoughts swirled around in his mind, and the roof was the only place calm enough for him to let them run free.

His eyes were unfocussed, not really taking in the view. No, all he could see now was the figure in his mind. Blonde, with blue eyes burning like fire and a terrifying smile on its face. That figure had been haunting his thoughts for the past two weeks...ever since it had forcefully made its entrance into his life.

He'd made it to Beacon. Finally a hallmark of his achievements – a sign that he was getting somewhere. It had been going well; Cardin had been put in command of a team, becoming fast friends with them and forming tight bonds. He'd been making a good start on a reputation, finding a target to pressure who would let him earn immediate animosity from the student body and let his team stand out. He'd been on track to a successful time at the academy.

Until he first met Jaune Arc.

That first impression had found itself a place in Cardin's memories, digging in and refusing to move. His hand moved to his nose unconsciously as he remembered. Everything had begun to change after that punch.

Goodwitch had put CRDL in detention for what they'd done to the faunus. Cardin had seen his chance to repair his damaged reputation, and declared a vendetta on the blonde leader. With his team's support he'd tried for weeks – sticking his feet out in class, carefully aimed shoulder barges, whispered insults. He'd even tried to get him stuck in a doorway with that folding shield of his.

Every attempt had failed. Not just failed, each one had been _turned_ on him. Masterfully twisted into a demonstration of Cardin making a fool of himself.

That was why he couldn't stay angry. He was too busy being _impressed_. Cardin respected power...and the kind of skill required to never once put a foot wrong was power. So he was stuck respecting Arc. His team didn't share his view – they wanted revenge against the warrior, citing his attack and all the failed attempts.

 _Revenge...for a few hours spent in a classroom, catching up on our studies? Revenge for an injury that healed in days? Revenge for petty humiliations that we brought on ourselves?_

CRDL's leader sighed heavily as his own mind rebelled against him. He had sabotaged himself, giving the blonde more and more chances to impress him. Hell, he'd actually caught himself _arguing_ with Dove when he'd suggested the Rapier Wasps. Playing that off had been difficult, and he felt sure that his team knew something had changed.

Jaune Arc...one of the eight rising stars in the first year. A skillful warrior and an even more skilled tactician, the teachers often called on him for explanations. He could hold his own against members of RWBY, and though he rarely won the matches were hard fought. Compared to CRDL, he was on a whole different level.

Yet his attitude seemed so normal. He didn't have a reputation like Nikos, he wasn't anti-social like Belladonna and Ren, he wasn't fight-crazy like Valkyrie or Xiao-Long. He wasn't stuck-up like Schnee, or childish like Rose. He was just an ordinary guy with some extraordinary skills.

It made him seem reachable – like he was a goal Cardin could aim for, someone to try and catch up to. If it weren't for his team's urgings, he might have just given up the attempts long ago and tried to mend the burnt bridges there.

But he couldn't – he was a leader, and his team might fall apart if he lost their respect. Something needed to change...he needed his team to understand that Arc was better as an ally than as an enemy.

His mind churned as he tried to think of a way to get it through to them. Then he saw a blonde figure crossing the courtyard, and inspiration struck as he moved back to the staircase.

* * *

Jaune eyed the taller youth uncertainly. He wasn't in his armour, nor was he carrying his mace. He was holding his distance, his hands kept open by his sides.

Cardin was offering an olive branch.

The blonde met those eyes, only a few shades darker than his own. There was no anger there.

"We need to talk, Cardin? What about?" CRDL's leader let out a breath, one Jaune hadn't realised he was holding.

"I need your help with something." Normally JNPR's leader would have laughed in his face...but this was a side of Cardin he hadn't seen before. Not even when he'd saved the lummox from an Ursa in Forever Fall. Then he'd seen a strange combination of fear and respect.

Now, all he saw was nervousness.

"...Go on."

Permission granted, the taller boy continued. "Arc, over the last few weeks, my team and I have made your life difficult. I know I can't just say sorry and make that go away...so, I want to ask what I need to do to mend things with you."

If Jaune's mother had flown in on a pink Nevermore to congratulate him for winning a one-way trip to the moon, he probably would have been less shocked than he currently was.

Cardin Winchester was trying to build bridges. With _him_. The massive youth who had made such a monumental ass of himself for the past three weeks wanted to... _apologise_. He was standing there with nothing but open honesty on his face, asking what he needed to do to start again.

The blonde reached for a nearby tree, one of the many which ringed Beacons' perimeter, and leaned against it. _Deep breaths, Arc, deep breaths..._

Once he had sufficiently recovered, Jaune looked back to the earnest giant in front of him. "Well...I think I can honestly say that I never expected this to happen."

Cardin nodded, as if the reaction was what he'd been anticipating. Jaune's mind started throwing up suggestions for what the boy could do, even as CRDL's leader replied.

"Yeah. But you're too skilled for us to touch – and I admire that. I'd rather apologise and learn from you than just keep wasting time like we've been doing."

That was...a perfectly logical solution to the situation. The blonde shook his head, and couldn't keep a grin off his face. "Well, Cardin, I'd rather teach you than keep dealing with your schemes. So I'll just take your apology."

A frown creased the other leader's face at that. "You're sure? It doesn't feel like an even trade."

"Completely sure."

Blue eyes locked for a moment, and Winchester sighed. "If you're really sure, I'll accept. But we'll need to somehow win over my team."

A grin slowly spread over the blonde's face as a plan spun itself into existence, and it reminded Cardin far too much of the smile in his memories. "Oh, don't worry. I know _just_ how to solve that problem."

* * *

Velvet Scarlatina was finishing a report on CFVY's latest mission when someone knocked on the dorm's entrance. Her team mates turned around just as she did, four frowns immediately sprouting. Who the hell would be bothering second years at – a quick check of the clock – half twelve in the morning?

Coco walked over to the door, pulling it open with a rough "What?"

From her seat, Velvet could see the two figures standing in the doorway. One was Jaune Arc, the blonde who'd stood up for her on his first day. Next to him was...

The person he'd stood up to.

Velvet recognised Cardin Winchester immediately – and so did her leader. "You!" the fashionista snarled, grabbing the taller youth by his collar. CRDL's leader didn't move – didn't do anything in fact, but keep his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Next to him, Jaune coughed into his hand. "Coco, can we talk? Cardin and I need to borrow your team's services." The brunette's glare shifted from the once-tormentor to the blonde knight and back again.

"What the hell? You're the kid who laid this one out, aren't you? After he started leaning on my team mate over there?" Jaune nodded calmly.

"Yes, that's me. Jaune Arc. This is Cardin Winchester – I brought him here for a couple of reasons...but maybe the second reason ought to come first. What do you think?" The question was directed at the hulking figure next to him, who was still remaining motionless, despite the fact that it was obviously getting difficult to breathe.

"...Good idea..." he gasped, face turning red. Turning his gaze from the middle distance to focus on the rabbit faunus who had frozen in her seat, he spoke. "Velvet...I apologise...for my behaviour...in the dining hall. It...wasn't anything...personal."

The look of utter disbelief that passed over Coco's face apparently loosened her grip enough for Cardin's feet to touch the ground again, and CRDL's leader started wheezing in an attempt to regain oxygen.

"...Nothing personal?" asked the fashionista quietly. Nodding from his bent-over position, the auburn haired giant started speaking again.

"Yeah, nothing personal. I needed a target to build my reputation on, and she was the easiest mark available. It's the way I've always done things...maybe Jaune can explain better." Turning his head to look at the blonde next to him, Cardin silently pleaded that he continue the explanation.

Indulging his request, Jaune attracted CFVY's attention by speaking. "Cardin here has, to my complete surprise, a decent head on his shoulders. In fact, he's smart enough to play the long game at every institution he gets into. Setting himself up as an intimidating figure through bullying gets him attention, which he can use to show off his skills. That gives him a chance to get ahead of his peers. It's ingenious – twisted, but ingenious."

The second years listened quietly. The red-haired one, Fox if Jaune remembered properly, began nodding. "The kid's right – that would actually work...anywhere but a Huntsman academy."

Cardin took that as his cue, standing up fully again now that his oxygen intake was restored. "Yeah, I came to that realisation when Arc decked me and made a fool of me for three weeks straight. He and his friends are on a whole different level from me – playing people games won't get me jack here. So, I'm trying something new and playing it straight."

Coco stared long and hard at the giant who had tormented her friend so. He was standing tall, resolute. There was nothing in his eyes but honesty. With a disgusted sigh, her offensive posture slackened. "Well hell. I can't deny a man his second chance." Her eyes sharpened again, aimed this time at Jaune. "That still doesn't fully explain this visit though."

The blonde nodded. "Cardin approached me wanting to rebuild the burnt bridges between us. I've accepted...but his team legitimately dislike me and my friends. So we hatched ourselves a scheme to change their view...but we need your help for it."

Coco looked over her shoulder. Velvet was still frozen in place, Yatsuhashi was being...stoic, and Fox was just listening. No cries of protest... "Okay Arc, spill it."

The blonde nodded. "Here's how I see it: Cardin's team hate me because I've been making fools of them for ages. Something big needs to happen for them to see me as a potential ally...something like the two of us getting along. But CRDL might fall apart if the change happens too fast, so Cardin can't just immediately be friendly. At least, not without a reason."

Jaune had their interest now. "And what better reason for friendship than bonding over a shared pastime?"

CFVY, as one unit, looked back and forth between the auburn giant and the comparatively tiny blonde. Coco voiced what they were thinking. "What in Monty's name do you two both enjoy doing?"

This time, Jaune and Cardin smiled together.

"Oh come on Coco – what do _all_ Huntsmen enjoy doing?"

* * *

Sky Lark was worried. He paced back and forth in the dorm room belonging to CRDL, his team, letting his worry out in the form of motion. His partner Dove sat on the bed he'd picked out weeks earlier, trying to chew his nails.

Trying was the operative word...Dove had the second strongest aura in their group, and it made biting through his nails the equivalent of eating matchsticks. He tried anyway, because it was stress relief and their leader being AWOL would make anyone pretty freaking stressed.

Russel, Cardin's partner, was just staring at the clock on his chest of drawers. Three in the morning, and no sign of his friend. _Dammit Winchester, where in the hell are you..._

All three of them were startled by a knock at their door, which they immediately rushed to open. On the other side were Fox Alistair and Yatsuhashi Daichi. Over their respective shoulders were Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester, both apparently not weighing much to the second years despite their fully-armoured forms.

The robe-clad swordsman of CFVY walked into the room, laying CRDL's leader on the nearest bed with a grunt. The auburn-haired youth was out cold, his mace holstered by his side. His team mates immediately clustered around him...except for Russel Thrush, who instead looked up to the second year beside him.

"What the hell happened to him? And what the hell happened to Arc?" he asked, gesturing to the blonde youth currently slung over Fox's shoulder.

The giant figure from the east turned to face the first year, who stood his ground despite the tremble of fear he felt. "Found them in the Emerald Forest. They were having a Grimm killing competition."

Confusion flashed across RDL's faces. "Wait, they were what?"

"I told you already – they were seeing who could kill the most Grimm. Ask him for the full story when he wakes up...he's uninjured, but completely exhausted. Keep him out of sparring for a couple of days."

With those parting words, the giant left the room. Three pairs of confused eyes turned to their leader, noting many small scratches and bruises. Since the orb in his weapon's head wasn't glowing, it had apparently run out of Dust. He did, in fact, look completely exhausted as he slept like the dead.

The three friends stood around uncertainly for a moment, before Russel sighed. "Well, we aren't gonna get our answers tonight. To bed people, we have our leader back." With their leader out of it, Sky and Dove decided that his partner would do as a substitute.

RDL got ready for bed, and the lights in the room went out minutes later.

* * *

Several corridors away, CFVY's resident red-head pressed Arc's scroll to the pad by JNPR's dorm. It opened with a click, and the warrior moved inside. Identifying the leader's bed as being the only one without some kind of personality, he laid the blonde on it. Jaune slumbered on, dead to the world. His aura had dealt with his injuries, but fatigue could only be cured with sleep.

He left the scroll with the blonde, backing out of the room and closing it behind him. The second year went to move away, but suddenly found himself staring into four pairs of female eyes. "And what the hell were you doing in JNPR's room?" asked a blonde, lilac eyes seeming to flicker a different colour.

Fox moved back a few steps, taking in the scope of the force arrayed against him. One blonde, two red-heads, one curiously white-haired girl. Their expressions ranged from curious to pissed to...absolutely terrifying. What the hell was with the short ginger one?

And why was she looking at his legs?

Raising his arms and backing away further, the second year decided that he did _not_ need to deal with this. "Hey, I'm just returning a favour. When he wakes up, tell that blonde we're even, you hear me? I've got better things to do than lug his sleeping ass around campus."

Leaving the assembled girls to make of that what they would, the second year walked away. He'd meant it too – he appreciated Arc standing up for Velvet, but he'd need to pull off something a whole lot bigger to convince Fox that dealing with four women was worth it.

The combined might of PWNY watched the red-haired man walk away, their gazes trained on him until he turned a corner and vanished. As soon as he had, their own red-haired warrior pressed her scroll to the door's pad, unlocking it.

Moving inside, she beheld her leader. He was in full armour, Crocea Mors at his waist. He was sleeping, chest moving up and down slowly. Though his skin was unblemished, his armour bore signs of attacks. From her perspective, he was like a warrior who had just returned home. A little battered, dead tired...but victorious.

Sighing to herself, Pyrrha walked forward and placed a hand on the blonde's forehead. He stirred, a small smile gracing his features at the contact. His partner smiled as well, stroking the blonde hair gently.

From the doorway, three pairs of eyes watched. For a few seconds, anyway.

After that, Nora ushered Yang and Weiss back to their own room. They didn't resist, understanding that this moment was for the two people in the next room...even if one of them wasn't conscious. "We got a lot done tonight...we'll continue tomorrow. Take care of the lovebirds, Nora."

Throwing the blonde a salute, JNPR's heavy artillery headed off in search of her partner. She'd give the two however long it took her to find Ren...then, they were all getting some sleep. If she missed her pancakes again...well, that didn't bear thinking about.

* * *

In a dark classroom, Lie Ren sat tied to a chair.

He wasn't really secured...he could have escaped at any time. However, the sheer entertainment value of his current situation had kept him in place for hours now.

Ruby Rose walked in slow circles around him, half in and half out of the circle of light shining down on the martial artist. She had been doing that for half an hour – before that, she had tried sitting in front of him, standing behind him, and at one point remaining in the shadows of the room.

That might have worked if her scarlet cloak and shining eyes didn't make her stand out in the dark like a sore thumb.

The look she had been wearing for her performance was probably an imitation of something she'd seen in a movie. While it had doubtless looked intimidating on whichever gruff detective had worn it first, on the young Huntress-in-training, it looked much the same as every other expression.

Adorable.

"You could always save yourself some effort and talk, you know." Oh Monty, she was trying for gruff. He could actually hear the effort she was putting into lowering her voice an octave or two, the struggle to undo hundreds of years of genetic progress...or to imitate fifty years of chain smoking.

"This'll go much easier if you do." Between the chair, the light, the look, the voice and now these lines, Ren was sure that he'd crack if it kept on much longer. He could feel himself shaking, his normally iron-clad self control failing him after hours of overwork.

"Hah. Scared, are you? I can make it stop, you know. You'll be free to go...as soon as you give me what I need." The martial artist was employing every method of controlling his emotions known to man, and a few known only to him. It wasn't working..every barrier fell, the onrushing tide simply too strong to resist.

"Tell me Jaune Arc's colour preferences and taste in food, and you might just survive the night."

Ren snapped.

* * *

Nora Valkyrie walked into an empty classroom, following the tail end of the sound she'd heard from outside the main building. Her partner was sitting in a chair in the centre of the room, panting as he tried to get his breath back.

Ruby Rose was lying on the floor near him, looking absolutely stunned. Nora noticed that only one of the room's light switches was on, and she activated the rest as she surveyed the scene.

Ropes were curled on the floor near Ren's feet, obviously having fallen there during the ourburst. The younger girl's gaze had snapped to look at Nora, guilt and relief appearing in equal measure.

A burst of rose petals signified the girl's appearance as she wrapped Nora in a hug, shivering. "Nora, I'm so sorry! I...I didn't think that would happen!" She grabbed he hammer-wielder's shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes. "It was never meant to go that far!"

Smiling kindly, the blue-eyed warrior gave Ruby another hug. "It's alright. You head back to your team, it's late and we're done for tonight." Grateful to be given an excuse, the figure in scarlet vanished out of the classroom while Nora headed down to her partner.

She stood over him, slouched over in the chair as he was, and regarded her oldest friend. He looked up, his magenta eyes full of emotion.

"I...Nora, I couldn't help myself. It just...happened..." Leaning down and giving her partner a hug, Nora smiled widely.

"Now now Ren, it's fine. Even you should laugh from time to time. Now come on, Jaune's passed out again." Dragging himself upward with a sigh, Ren followed his partner out of the room.

Come morning, Professor Port would discover an interesting set-up in his classroom...unfortunately, it would be after Professor Goodwitch.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Now, I know what you're thinking – where in the Monty-themed hell did that come from? Where was the build up, the subtle indications that Cardin was changing his ways? I'll tell you:**

 **They didn't exist until today.**

 **It was my own damn fault. I got so caught up in the 'main plot' that the CRDL subplot I was trying to include got neglected. I didn't even notice...until GuardianOfAll noted that they seemed underdeveloped as characters. I think my exact thoughts at the time...are unprintable, M rating or not, but they basically went along the lines of 'Oh, bugger.'**

 **So, I took the day...and literally went back over EVERY CHAPTER TO DATE. _GOD_ that took a while. But, I think I've finally corrected the formatting...and the periods following dialogue. How I missed that I will never know...thank you, csad21, for bringing that to my attention. You da man.**

 **But anyway, a re-read of the story from Chapter 9 onwards (which will hopefully be bearable now that I've fixed the formatting issues) should have this making a lot more sense. You'll see the differences I'm sure, because _you are all awesome people._**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, then please leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	21. Chapter 21, Mid Game

Jaune Arc remembered the previous night, the endless waves of Grimm Crocea Mors had felled. Cardin had been at his back, the fellow team leader decimating his own portion of the battlefield. They'd carried on for hours, until they should have been buried in black corpses and red eyes.

But eventually, the larger teen had begun to flag. As soon as Cardin took the first major hit from an Ursa, Jaune had stopped holding back.

While keeping a little something in reserve had been good for letting his new ally keep up with his Grimm-count, he needed to make up for the sudden defecit in firepower.

He'd held the 360 degrees of the circle he mentally drew around the crouching youth, removing heads and limbs when they dared cross the sacrosanct line. His shield had held off Monty only knew how many blows, his armour pieces employed as last-resort deflectors.

It had only taken two minutes for CFVY to arrive and bail them out, but the combat intensity had been high enough to bring Jaune's fatigue to the same level as Cardin's. With final instructions to take them back to their respective dorms, the blonde had passed out for the umpteenth time in recent memory.

* * *

That led him to the present moment.

He was lying in his bed, armour and Crocea Mors still with him. Thankfully his aura had taken care of whatever aches sleeping with his equipment would have caused...

But there was every chance that even his God-given 'gift' of nearly unlimited aura reserves might not be enough to heal the wounds this morning might incur.

Upon waking, he had felt a warm presence lying beside him. He had naturally assumed that it was Nora, having had one of her night-time wanders around the dorm. Thus, he had turned on to his side to ask her politely if she would go and bother Ren instead...

It wasn't Nora.

Instead, Jaune found himself face to face with Pyrrha, who had apparently fallen asleep on his bed sometime during the night. Her face was literally centimetres from his own, and he could feel her soft breathing on his face.

If he moved, there was every chance that she would wake up. Jaune's tactical mind had helpfully charted what it believed were her possible responses.

A. Wake up, realise she is in _very_ close proximity to her team leader. Decide said team leader is a pervert/creeper, kill team leader.

B. Wake up, reveal that she intended to fall asleep next to him. Also reveal that this decision was so that she would know when he woke up, so she could kill said team leader for passing out yet again.

His brain was apparently being neither productive nor encouraging this morning.

Thus, Jaune was left with the time until he needed to breathe out in which to make his decision. He ran through all the ways this situation could be solved without bloodshed...and found the one most suited to him.

The plan was to explode into motion, propelling himself off the bed and onto the floor. Then, deploy Crocea Mors and shield-charge through the JNPR door. Once free, run like hell until sufficient distance existed between him and his partner.

No injury, some confusion, massive loss of pride. Most of Jaune's plans in a nutshell.

However, the saying 'no plan survives first contact with the enemy' existed for a reason. That reason was, apparently, for Jaune to remember it clearly when his entire plan fell apart before it even got off the ground. Or off the bed.

The 'explosion of motion' which had formed the basis of his escape attempt was, as it turned out, a mistake. Because he was next to _Pyrrha freaking Nikos_ , and even in her sleep her reaction times made computers feel inferior.

As soon as he tried to catapult himself away, his partner's semi-conscious mind decided that it didn't want to lose its hot water bottle of the past several hours, and implemented counter measures. These counter measures took the form of the red-haired warrior pinning the object to the bed via the application of her full body weight.

Which is to say, she jumped on him.

Normally, having a rather tall and muscular seventeen year old woman fall on you would be a cause for an expulsion of air and a curse word. However, Jaune wasn't the only person who had fallen asleep in his armour.

Having gone from her combat class to spending most of the previous night in RWBY's dorm, and then promptly fallen asleep stroking blonde hair, Jaune's partner hadn't yet changed out of her battle-dress. This became apparent when the combined weight of Pyrrha Nikos and quite a substantial mass of high-quality armour piledrivered the blonde in an attempt to stop him from moving.

This was, needless to say, not conducive to Jaune's plan.

All the air which had been in his lungs was immediately forfeit, and he felt the impact even through his aura. The sound of two armoured surfaces colliding also echoed out through the room, immediately waking Ren, Nora (who was in fact asleep in Pyrrha's bed) and, of course, Pyrrha herself.

Thus, when NPR awoke, they were met with the sight of Jaune's partner apparently attempting to crush her leader. Said leader was frantically trying to breathe, move or, indeed, do anything other than flail wildly.

Now awake, the red-haired warrior came to the realisation that she was lying across her leader. She also came to the realisation that he was dying of asphyxiation, and immediately attempted to get off him.

This was, unfortunately, not the best course of action. Because in attempting to place her hands on either side of her leader's head in order to push away from him, Pyrrha forgot to take one thing into account.

Jaune's head was hanging over the edge of the bed.

The blonde and his red-haired partner both fell off the bed, the sudden unbalancing causing another cacophonous impact. Thankfully, this let Jaune breathe again, and he began taking in massive gulps of air while his partner tried to understand what had just happened.

* * *

Ren watched on in complete silence. Sleepy eyes took stock of the situation, from the hyperventilating leader on the floor to his partner, who was beginning to turn as red as her hair. Turning to look at Nora, the martial artist found that his partner was taking pictures with her scroll.

Sighing in the manner of someone who has just been woken up at six o'clock in the morning by a group of idiots, Ren went back to sleep. _No counseling services before seven AM. You got this Jaune._

* * *

Pyrrha was spared the need to ask herself any questions by her certain knowledge that she was the most embarrassed woman in Beacon.

The hours spent with Weiss, Yang and Nora had been...enlightening, as to many aspects of 'The Game' as the blonde liked to call it. The red-haired warrior felt like she had survived some rite of passage...the arcane secrets of the universe laid bare before her.

It had, of course, been exhausting – which was probably why she had been bold enough to stroke Jaune's hair in the first place. It was definitely the reason she had fallen asleep whilst doing so, and thus definitely the reason for her current predicament.

The object of her affections was currently lying somewhere behind her, taking in great lungfulls of air in an attempt to re-oxygenate his brain. That had apparently been brought on by her...jumping on him in her sleep.

Head buried in her hands, Pyrrha could feel the blush on her face radiating through her gloves. _What kind of...more-than-friend...falls asleep in her crush's bed and then_ jumps _on him when he tries to leave?! Oh Monty, what must he think..._

A digital _beep_ emanated from the corner of the room, and the red-haired warrior looked up sharply to discover her team mate brandishing a scroll and a massive grin. The idea of those images being in anybody's possession, even Nora's, instantly overrode Pyrrha's embarrassment. Extending a hand, she pulled on the metal in the device with every ounce of power her semblance could conjure.

The scroll flew out of Nora's hands and into Jaune's partner's, where the screen was immediately turned to face the red-faced warrior. Faced with the pictures before her, which had captured the looks on both their faces while the partners fell to the floor, turned up the heat emanating from Pyrrha's blush several degrees.

Fingers moving like lightning, she deleted every single one, even as her fellow red-head cried in agony. "No, Pyrrha! They're so cute! Don't do it!" Her pleading just ensured that the warrior made doubly sure that every trace of the incident had been eradicated, panting slightly as the last image was deleted.

Slumping, the ace of Beacon's first year let out a massive sigh of relief. They were safe...they were safe...

Looking down showed that her partner was apparently pulling himself back together, enough oxygen having reached his brain to re-establish control. Setting herself into a perfectly calm sitting position, the red-haired warrior conjured the most brilliant smile she could manage and turned it in his direction.

Oh Monty, how was she going to play this off?

* * *

 _Oh Monty, how am I going to play this off?_ Jaune asked himself, finally having enough air in his lungs to form coherent thoughts.

Getting himself into a sitting position, he surveyed his team. Ren had apparently gone back to sleep, his well-documented disbelief in times before seven AM once again in practise. Nora was lying face-down on Pyrrha's bed, one hand draped over the edge in the red-haired warrior's direction. She seemed to be sobbing quietly.

As for his partner...she was sitting in much the same way as he was, with the single fakest smile he had ever seen on her stuck in place. _Dear Monty, that must hurt..._ he thought to himself, the distorted expression seeming to employ more facial muscles than should ever need to be conscripted in a time of peace.

Clearing his throat, he decided that as team leader he ought to establish some control over the situation. "So. Since it is currently..." he checked the clock, "six in the morning, I am going to go back to bed. I am then going to wake up in an hour, and whether or not I remember what just happen will be entirely based on what I hear at that time."

Standing up, the blonde very deliberately unbuckled his armour and weapon, leaving them at the foot of his bed. He then moved over to his partner, offering her a hand. The painful smile finally leaving her face to be replaced by more genuine embarrassment, the red-haired warrior took hold of the appendage and got to her own feet.

The blonde then moved just as deliberately over to his bed, which he lay down. He then promptly passed out again.

Pyrrha watched her leader's chest rising and falling for a few moments, before heading into the nearby walk-in wardrobe. Removing her battle-dress in favour of a simple pyjama outfit, the warrior made her way back to her own bed and imitated her leader.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

* * *

Despite the drama of earlier in that morning, Nora still roused her team promptly at seven. After all, she could mourn the passing of such incredibly cute photos later...for now, pancakes were her priority.

As Ren found himself pulled kicking and screaming into the world of the waking, Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other from across the room. Rising from her bed, the red-haired warrior made her way across the floor to her partner, Yang's words echoing in her mind.

 _"Jaune might have confessed to you, but it sounds like that happened after he got a real push. So, Pyrrha, if you want to get more out of him, you need to be that push."_

It was just like combat training – she who controls the momentum of the battle controls the outcome. _I must ensure that the momentum remains with me – that way, I can force him to react._

Jaune watched his partner approach nervously. The look in her eyes now was terrifyingly similar to the one she wore during sparring.

"Jaune...I think we should talk about what happened this morning." Oooh yes, definitely terrified now.

"Pyrrha, I swear to Monty I didn't mean for that to hap-"

"Jaune." Pyrrha's tone cut the end off his panicked ramblings like Crescent Rose taking the head off a Beowolf.

"This morning was not your fault. In fact, it wasn't anybody's fault – because that makes it sound like something wrong happened. You already showed me that you like me...so I'm just returning the favour."

This eloquent and completely fabricated line was a bastardised version of one Blake had given the warrior earlier that morning. She just hoped that it would be enough...

The blonde in front of her remained completely still for a moment. Then, he nodded to himself, as he too rose from his bed. "I understand. If that is the case, then I completely misinterpreted your gesture. Sorry, Pyrrha."

 _Holy Monty that actually worked._ "Don't be, Jaune. We're both new to this...it was never going to be smooth sailing all the way." _Of course, I wasn't supposed to end up in your bed within three days of you confessing either...Yang must never know of this._

Nodding again, the blonde started moving for the bathroom he shared with Ren. "Indeed...I suppose this means I have to go up a level." The red-haired warrior remained in place, staring at the now closed door separating her leader from the rest of the team.

 _Go up a level? Wait...is he treating this like a game too?_ The mental image of Yang and Jaune sitting opposite one another on a chess board, their various friends taking the roles of the pieces, spontaneously appeared in her mind.

 _I get the distinct feeling that I'm caught in a crossfire..._

* * *

Come eight in the morning, JNPR were making their way across the courtyard to the dining hall. Once they reached the doors, their leader unexpectedly halted.

Turning around, the blonde planted himself facing the dormitory, an inscrutable look on his face. "Jaune? Why are we waiting here?" his partner asked, voicing the question on Ren and Nora's lips.

"Wait for it..." he replied, holding his stance. Arms crossed, face set in stone, legs apart.

 _Standard confrontational body language...Jaune's expecting some kind of challenge._ Understanding that did not, unfortunately, give Ren any idea of what form that challenge would take.

"Arc!"

That, of course, did.

Cardin Winchester was striding across the courtyard, his face just as resolute as Jaune's. The rest of CRDL followed behind him, looking just as confused as JNPR.

When the hulking figure finally reached them, the two leaders stood almost toe-to-toe. They glared at each other with the kind of intensity known to generate electrical currents, tension rising around them like a tangible pressure.

None of the other six people gathered around had any idea of what was going on...but one person did. Making his way across the courtyard, Yatsuhashi Daichi cut an imposing figure. Larger even than Cardin, his sheer presence commanded respect.

Reaching the two leaders, he pulled a scroll from a pocket and regarded the information there. "I will now declare the number of Grimm each of the contestants killed during the two hours for which the contest was valid."

"Cardin Winchester, you slew a total of one hundred and seventy three Grimm." Nearby first year students looked at the giant in shock. It easy to forget that, just because he wasn't the most skilled combatant in his year, the youth was a Huntsman in training. His combat ability was more than enough to handle himself, even in a gauntlet like the previous night.

"Jaune Arc, you slew a total of two hundred and thirty-four Grimm. However, as sixty one of those Grimm were slain after Winchester was deemed unable to continue, they are discounted. Thus, you slew one hundred and seventy three valid Grimm."

Taking a few steps back, the giant declared what listeners had already worked out. "Cardin Winchester, Jaune Arc, you are at a draw. Thus, your dispute is to be settled with both parties receiving their stated reward." His piece said, the warrior remained in order to enforce the exchange of rewards.

JNPR and CRDL had finally realised what was going on. CRDL, who had been told about Cardin's late-night activities, were anxiously waiting to see what the two had demanded of each other. JNPR had put the pieces together quickly, and while Pyrrha quietly swore to herself that her battered knight was going to be even _more_ battered come that evening, they also waited with baited breath.

The two leaders continued to glare at each other, tension crackling around them. Then, as one, they took a single step back...and presented their hands to each other. Each grasped the other firmly, and they spoke simultaneously.

"Jaune Arc, I admit that you are the better warrior."

"Cardin Winchester, I admit that you are the better warrior."

Both groups stood in stunned silence, not quite processing what had just occurred. Then, the stony gazes that the two leaders had been holding for so long devolved into massive grins.

"See you around, Cardin?" The auburn haired giant nodded, letting go of the blonde's hand.

"Yeah, Jaune. Till next time."

And with that, both turned around and entered the dining hall, leaving six extremely confused team mates and one giant swordsman. A moment later the spell was broken, and five pairs of feet immediately chased their respective leaders in the pursuit of information.

One, however, stayed put. Ren turned his gaze on the stoic giant who still hadn't left his spot. "Those two...when did they plan this?"

Returning the gaze, the similarly-featured swordsman's poker face never wavered. "If those two had in fact concocted some plan or another, and _if_ they had then embroiled my team in a scheme the likes of which I have never seen? It would have had to happen in the early hours of the morning."

With his revelation complete, Yatsuhashi finally turned around to make his way back to the dorm. "Now go eat, Ren. I'm whacked."

Shaking his head at the retreating back, JNPR's resident martial artist turned back to the dining hall and moved inside. He identified his team by the two flailing red-heads currently standing over a blonde teen. Jaune's grin was visible from the doors.

Moving further inside, Ren collected some breakfast before taking it to JNPR's usual spot. Taking his seat across the table from Jaune, the dark haired youth coughed into his hand. His partner immediately broke off her attempts to threaten/bribe information out of the blonde, focussing on the massive pile of pancakes Ren had collected alongside his own food.

Pyrrha also seemed to realise that she was gesticulating wildly in the middle of a crowded hall, and took her own seat next to Jaune. With things once again approaching normalcy, Ren pointed his fork at the blonde across the table.

"Jaune, I'm not going to say that you pulling off a plan to convert Cardin Winchester to our side is a bad thing. I just want you to know that I'm getting pretty tired of being left out of the loop, and I would dearly appreciate being given a little more information to work with."

Ren felt that his leader as suitably chastised with this, and so he returned to eating his breakfast. The blonde nodded, first to himself and then to his breakfast companions. "You are, of course, correct Ren. Suffice it to say that I seriously misjudged Cardin Winchester, and that CRDL should be counted as a potential resource in the future instead of an obstacle."

The martial artist nodded, having expected something like that. "I did wonder what was going on with all those strange looks." Jaune nodded as well, continuing to munch on his breakfast.

"But anyway guys, today marks a change in the way we do things. You'll have to wait until after classes, but we're all gathering in the dorm after dinner." His cryptic comments drove his partner and Ren's to new heights of curiosity and infuriation, but Ren himself understood. _He can't say why – not here. It's related to his purpose._

Classes could not end soon enough today.

* * *

With a full day of classes and dinner under their belts, JNPR returned to their dorm room. "Okay, RWBY won't be done for a while yet. That means we have time until Pyrrha has to go over to them...and that means I can unveil this."

Reaching a hand under his bed, the blonde took hold of a note book which was concealed there. Pulling it out, he began unfolding the front page – it was actually a massive sheet, many times folded and hole-punched to fit inside the notebook's ring-binding.

At its full expansion, it was a sketched map of Vale and its environs. Locations were marked with dates and icons, and Mountain Glenn was circled several times.

Ren stared at it, as did Pyrrha and Nora. "Jaune...is this what I think it is?" The blonde nodded.

"This is everything I can remember. All the dust heists, all the major events, all the locations I know about from my days exploring the city which might be useful." The information presented here was cobbled together from memories and logical deduction, painting an image of almost unmatched criminal enterprise. It was a wealth of foreknowledge, and worth its weight in gold.

Jaune uncapped a pen, squatting down beside his team mates as the map was spread out over the floor. Placing the pen's head on the docks, he looked up at his team.

"We have two months until the best shot we'll get at stopping Torchwick early presents itself. Let's get to work."

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Here we go, then. I felt like it had been a while since there was a 'Jaune-esque' moment, and so I created the first half of this chapter.**

 **From this point on, we have (according to my mental timeline) two months until the events of Black and White. What will happen over the space of that time? Will it be enough for the team to stop Torchwick? How will Jaune and Pyrrha's relationship develop in the meantime? Can they survive the manipulative powers of the fiercesome Xiao-Long dating service?!**

 **Time will tell!**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	22. Chapter 22, Just Business

Ren crouched in the shadows of Vale's warehouse district, completely concealed from prying eyes. This was his eighteenth position in the last half-hour, and so far none of the warehouses he had scanned contained anything living.

Not making a sound, the martial artist pulled his aura back from inside the building and stood. Moving like the shadow he so resembled, Ren blurred across pools of moonlight, senses at their limits to identify any approaching threats. They needed to identify Roman's base of operations, and the sooner they could do that, the sooner they could factor that information into the plan.

Or, as Jaune liked to call it, The Plan.

Still, capitalisation wouldn't make a difference if they didn't have the information needed to take action. Hence Ren spending tonight doing what he did best – information gathering. Crouching down beside another warehouse, Ren's aura expanded around him in a cloud. That cloud passed through the wall beside him, probing for any signs of life.

Still nothing. Retracting his aura once again, the martial artist moved to his feet and made for his next target. There were almost seven hundred warehouses in this part of Vale, and he only had so much time to work with.

It all depended on how long his team could keep the boss occupied.

* * *

Roman Torchwick had long ago decided that he hated children. In fact, if he took the time to think about it, he had probably hated children ever since he was one. The tantrums, the mess, the complete lack of any meaningful intelligence...

Yes, he hated children. Which was probably why Monty had decided to punish him by putting them _everywhere he went_.

A few weeks back once of his heists had been wrecked by a kid in a red hood. After that, Cinder had started sending her terrible twosome around to 'check on his progress'. And now...now there was _this._

Three armed kids, their heads entirely concealed by black masks, were busily wiping the street with his men. Well, technically they were Junior's men...which was going to be a whole headache in and of itself.

The heist had been going just as planned. Wee hours of the morning, all-night Dust shop...not many people around, great opportunity to gather more resources for phase 2. Then the first man into the building had exited via the window, and Roman realised it was going to be one of those nights.

Two sword and shield combos and one massive war hammer. Between the three of them, seven of his men were down and out. Four were still standing...but that was a situation quickly remedied. As he watched and considered just how many cigars he'd need to deal with this later, Roman watched one of his men sail upwards in a gentle arc...before crashing down at this feet.

The master criminal let out a long suffering sigh, looking up to confirm that he was indeed the last man standing. Green eyes eyed the three figures critically, sizing them up and adding what he'd learned from watching them fight. _They're a close knit group. The two shield users especially, they've got real synergy. The smaller one less so, but it's still pretty good._

Twirling Melodic Cudgel in one hand, Vale's most fashionable thief began to stroll forward. _The one with the red sword is by far the most skilled of the three. Hammer knows what she's doing, but has a long way to go in terms of technique. The guy isn't bad, but he's definitely the weakest of the three._

Roman put out his cigar, tossing it into a nearby drain. _Piece of cake._

* * *

Jaune watched the red-haired man approach, Crocea Mors held tightly in his fist. The grunts had been easily dealt with, being average human combatants. Roman however...Roman was an entirely different story.

 _We don't have the element of surprise. We don't have any aces up our sleeve like Blake did on the train. The three of us won't be enough to take him._

His grip flexed, even as the blonde led the charge towards the criminal. _But we don't need to take him...we just need to hold him._

The red-haired man's weapon came up, a Dust round taking flight toward Jaune. He angled his shield upward, redirecting the shot instead of letting it detonate on him. _Mind the civilians..._ More shots followed, and Jaune sent each of them into the sky.

Unfortunately, that meant that his shield covered his eyes for a few seconds. That gave the criminal plenty of time to swing his weapon like a club, driving the air out of Jaune's lungs and knocking him back. Pyrrha used the opening to get right up in Torchwick's face, Miló and Akoúo̱ fending off attacks right and left.

The flurry of blows the criminal rained down on her were difficult to defend against, the onslaught coming from various trajectories and all of them powerful. The warrior held her ground though, keeping the man's attention on her.

To the side of the battling pair, Jaune made signals to Nora. The girl ran across to her leader, as if she were going to help him up...but instead, she jumped toward him, as if she intended to drop kick him. Jaune raised his shield, providing a platform for her to rest on momentarily. Then, he pushed her forward as she kicked off the shield, sending her forward like a rocket.

Torchwick saw her coming, swaying out of the way while maintaining his flow of attacks on Pyrrha. Jaune was right behind his team mate, leading with a slash at his opponent's mid section. It was knocked away casually, and the man struck out with a blow for the blonde's face. Taking the hit on his shield, Jaune continued trying to attack in order to take pressure off his partner.

 _If Pyrrha can get on the offensive, we can turn the tide._ Of course, that would require that they presented more firepower than the man could handle. This was apparently not the case, as Melodic Cudgel seemed to interpose itself wherever a strike was intended to land. The man was a whirlwind, every attempt to hurt him being blown away.

Jaune tried to go for a shield-bash, but the momentary hole in his defences allowed Roman to point the business end of Melodic Cudgel right in his face. There was an explosion and a flash of light, and the blonde was lifted off his feet and bounced away across the street. _Damn, that hurt._

Getting to his feet, Jaune could feel the excess aura he was drawing accelerating the healing process. It had taken the brunt of the hit too, and he was back in the fight after barely ten seconds.

This was the first time the red-haired man had seemed truly surprised, and Jaune knew that he wouldn't be underestimated again. Still, the blonde returned to his attempts to breach Roman's defences, while Pyrrha still deflected blow after blow, trying to identify an opening.

 _I don't like this...where's Hammer?_ That was a dangerous unknown, and the master criminal wasn't fond of unknowns. His answer came moments later when a whistling sound from above met his ears, and he fired Melodic Cudgel straight up after parrying another blow from the swordsman.

There was a detonation from above him as the approaching warrior collided with the Dust round, her trajectory ruined. The strike intended for Roman never landed as Nora was forced to use Magnhild's detonation to lessen the impact of her crash landing.

She wasn't going to be in great shape after that, but she could probably get back in the fight if she was given a chance to rest. But Jaune had been watching Roman throughout the fight, had studied him from news broadcasts and the Beacon newspaper archives.

Torchwick was a criminal – a damn good one at that. He got where he was by never leaving loose ends or unknowns, by being ruthless and methodical. So when Melodic Cudgel was raised to point directly at Nora's slumped form, the blonde had known it was coming.

Before the Dust round could discharge, Jaune interposed himself between his team mate and Roman, shield pressed right against the weapon's muzzle. Normally, that would have resulted in the full force being expelled into Jaune's shield, which would undoubtedly have hurt and carried him off his feet.

However, in that split second Roman's attention was off Pyrrha. She had the time she needed to pull hard on Jaune's shield, her Semblance letting him stand his ground when the trigger was pulled. As a result, the blast intended for Nora was contained to Roman's weapon...and Jaune wasn't moving.

The resulting explosion lifted the criminal off his feet, throwing him several feet back. He landed on his feet, but that had been a palpable hit. Looking up, the immaculately dressed crime lord narrowed his eyes at the approaching swordspeople. _These kids..._

When the two reached him, the criminal immediately launched into a massive offensive on the male. He held for a couple of seconds, but he couldn't keep up with the seasoned warrior and was soon disarmed. The female sword user froze as Roman pressed Melodic Cudgel to the kid's temple, using him as a shield.

"Alright kiddies, this has been fun. But playtime's over. You've made a real mess of an otherwise beautiful evening, and so I'm going to be real clear about how this goes. I'm going to walk away with your boyfriend here. If I see you even twitch, he's done. You understand me?" The warrior standing in front of him didn't move for a few moments, but then nodded its head.

Roman started moving backwards, having already planned his evac from this heist. As he approached a plaza, the Bullhead which had been signalled as soon as the heist went south descended from above. The door opened, the twelfth member of the group Roman had taken into the store acting as pilot. "Come on boss, we gotta go!"

The crime lord pushed his hostage forward hard, putting him off balance. "Sorry kid, but I've had it up to here with you people. Maybe now they'll get the message." Before the kid could even turn around, Roman levelled Melodic Cudgel at him.

He emptied all his remaining Dust rounds into the black-masked figure, leaving it crumpled against the wall of a building across the plaza. Then he turned around and leaped into the Bullhead, the door immediately closing behind him.

"Get us out of here. I'm gonna need a serious drink before I tell Cinder we fluffed another heist." The pilot nodded, the ship taking to the skies and out of sight.

* * *

Pyrrha grabbed Crocea Mors and sprinted forward as soon as she heard the detonations, Nora following behind more slowly. She arrived at the plaza in time to see the Bullhead flying away, and her eyes scanned for her leader.

He was fetched up against a house, the bricks around him cracked from his impact. His nondescript clothing was in bad shape, and he wasn't moving. Dropping Jaune's weapons at his side, the red-haired warrior pulled off her mask and pressed two fingers to the blonde's neck. Laying her head on his chest, she closed her eyes and listened.

He was breathing, and there was a pulse. Sighing to herself, the warrior leaned back a bit. "Well, that was an eye-opening experience." A low groan was Jaune's reply, as he tried separate himself from the wall. Some dust trickled away from demolished bricks as he managed to sit up, his partner immediately lying him down with his head in her lap.

"...more like an eye-closing experience..." he breathed, wincing as Pyrrha gently ran her hands down his arms and across his chest.

"I'm not feeling any broken bones...you know I'm still not happy with you using such an untested technique?" The blonde tried to nod an affirmative, but decided it wasn't worth the pain.

"I know partner, I know. But it worked, I'm alive. No matter how how much I might regret it right now..." He groaned again as he made an attempt to sit up, but his red-haired partner kept her hands gently on his shoulders.

"Jaune, you know better than to try and move in your state. Nora, signal Ren will you? Tell him where we are." Nora fired off a salute, wincing as she did so, and returned to the Dust store.

The owner stiffened as she walked in, black mask in place. Giving him a smile, the blue-eyed warrior collected the three backpacks belonging to her team. "Sorry about the mess~ Don't forget to call the police!"

With her parting advice, the hammer-wielding girl skipped off into the early morning darkness of Vale, reuniting with her team just as the store's owner picked up the phone. Setting the backpacks down by her team mates, Nora retrieved her scroll. Powering it on, she sent their current position as a message to Ren, then settled down next to her leader to wait.

* * *

Ren felt his scroll vibrate silently in his pocket, and immediately retracted his aura from the building next to him. He'd managed to discover that Roman wasn't based in the sector of the district furthest from where they had previously stayed...and that the district had patrols.

They wore Grimm masks and simple armoured uniforms, a familiar emblem painted across the breastplates.

The White Fang.

That told Ren that his leader's assumption that the Warehouse District was where Roman had his base had merit. The crime lord was working with the organisation, according to the blonde. Still, it made getting around more difficult.

But he'd received the message to get out of there, meaning Roman had left the scene of the heist. He wouldn't come straight here – assuming he had used a Bullhead to escape, at least. He would land it somewhere out of the way, then get back to his base using several vehicles. It was a highly effective means of shaking trackers, and Ren would bet good money that a criminal as adept as Torchwick would have been doing it for years.

So, Ren started moving again. Flowing like liquid from one pool of shadow to the next, he slipped around every White Fang member like a ghost. It took him ten minutes to exit the Warehouse District, and he immediately lowered his hood. Looking around, the martial artist simply walked along the street as if he'd been there for hours.

Drawing his scroll and fixing a bored look on his face as he read Nora's message, he was just another teenager on a late-night stroll to get away from his parents. _Iridescent Plaza, across from Dust to Dust. Jaune down._ Sighing to himself, the martial artist closed the device and pocketed it.

He accelerated from walking pace to a casual jog, moving to meet up with his team.

Twenty minutes after he received the message, Ren jogged into Iridescent Plaza. His three team mates were near a semi-demolished wall, the blonde leader lying down as his partner let her fingers rest lightly on his hand. Nora was seated beside them, eyes bright as she talked about how they'd _so_ nearly had him.

Coming to a halt beside the trio, Ren squatted down to their level. "I'm here. So, how'd the information gathering go on this end?" Jaune turned his head to look at the martial artist, only wincing slightly as he did so.

"About as well as could be expected. He's just as good as RWBY said, it's gonna take more than us to stop him." Shooting a look back over his shoulder to his partner, the blonde began to sit up. The red-haired warrior supported him as he did so, until he was in a sitting position.

"If we factor in his partner, the White Fang, Emerald and Mercury...even if we can separate them, we need a massive increase in firepower." Ren nodded – that had been the belief going in.

"Alright, so not much has changed then. On my end, I managed to check a lot of the warehouses on the far side of the district. No signs of a base, but the White Fang are patrolling it. Good odds that he's in there, somewhere." It was the blonde's turn to nod, even as he began to gather his legs under him.

"Well, all in all this has been a pretty successful Friday night. Good work team – now, let's get back to the hotel. I think we've all earned a shower and some sleep." Leaning somewhat on his partner, Jaune and Pyrrha began moving away in the direction of the hotel JNPR was using this time.

Ren's gaze fell to his own partner, who was giving him a look he recognised all too well. With a sigh, the martial artist offered her his hand. Taking hold of it, the hammer-wielding girl was pulled up to her feet. A moment later, she had climbed onto her partner's back, and the world-weary Ren followed his leader.

* * *

Back at the hotel, which was a similarly affordable place to what they'd used during their first stay in Vale, JNPR managed to explain away Jaune's clothing as the result of a nasty fall. To avoid further questions, they quickly retreated to their rooms. Ren and Jaune were sharing, as were Nora and Pyrrha.

Ren let his leader go and take a shower first, while he himself retrieved one of the folded sheets of paper that were in evidence on his bed. Uncapping a pen, the martial artist put lines through the various warehouses he had managed to check on the map. It had been drawn with reference to a map of Vale, and they had half-shaded the warehouses where Jaune had already been.

 _He didn't find anything, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything there._ Still, Ren was certain that the base lay somewhere outside the area he had searched tonight. With the marking done, the martial artist re-folded the map and returned it to his bed.

He took a seat on the floor, leaning back as the sound of running water could be heard through the bathroom door. _I haven't done something like this in years...feels strange._ It had been a long time since the martial artist had needed this particular skill set, but he had slipped back into old habits as if he had never stopped.

 _I wonder if that's a good thing._ He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, until the bathroom door opened and Jaune walked out in his usual sleeping attire. "All yours. Unfortunately, my outfit kinda disintegrated when I tried to take it off. Those Dust rounds don't mess around."

Examining his leader closely, Ren could see the various ways he limited his own movement. It spoke to a lot of aches...but considering he should be dead, it was a pretty good trade-off. "So, you managed to draw it on command this time?"

The blonde took a seat on his bed, letting out a small sigh as he did so. "Yeah. It's getting easier with each use – I actually tanked one straight to the face during that fight." Jaune reached a hand up to his head, where there was definitely some bruising...but still a head.

"Pretty amazing, huh? Still hurts though." The martial artist nodded, silently contemplating his leader. _One of those shots could probably kill a normal person. Even most of Beacon's students would be out of commission after taking half the blasts he did..._

But the youth had taken what Ren felt was every shot Roman had. _If what Jaune heard him say is accurate, he intended to stop further interference by providing an example of what happens when you cross him._

The dark-haired youth smirked, even as he stood up and grabbed his own sleeping clothes. _He's going to be in for one hell of a surprise next month._

* * *

Pyrrha sat on her own bed, listening to the sound of Nora showering. She replayed the fight over and over in her head, recalling how her effort had been rendered useless by the crime lord. She had been utterly helpless in the face of an opponent...not just her, but Jaune and Nora as well.

Pyrrha hadn't found herself in a position like that for years. Her old competitive streak was raising its head again, as she recalled the bored look that Torchwick had worn for most of the fight. It hadn't even been important for him...

Her fists clenched, Pyrrha's green eyes narrowed. _He hurt Nora, he hurt Jaune, and he made a fool of me._ The list of offenses circled in her mind, and her resolve hardened. She would push herself again, find new heights.

And when she next met Roman Torchwick, she would wipe that look right off his face.

The shower room door opened, Nora exiting in her pyjamas. "Your turn Pyrrha!" she called, weaving over to her bed. As soon as she was in range, the shorter girl simply collapsed on it, falling into a deep sleep immediately.

Pyrrha watched her fellow red-head for a moment, remembering how Torchwick had been so willing to end her right then and there. Remembering how he had left Jaune, thinking that he was dead. Oh yes, Roman Torchwick would pay for what he had done.

The look on Pyrrha's face went unseen...but many miles away, a well-dressed man shivered.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **And so, we have first contact. Kids these days...always getting in the way of organised crime. Don't they realise Roman's trying to run a business?**

 **So yeah, I think that Roman is too much of an opponent for JNPR to handle alone – the only times he was beaten in the show were when he was faced with the unknown (like, say, Dust-empowered clones or RWBY's combo attacks), so in this situation? Not a chance in hell.**

 **Of course, the element of surprise is now well-established. The first battle is over...who won? Who's next? I decide! :)**

 **Also, the 5K celebration piece poll is now done - it was a 50/50 split between Comedy and Parody, so ladies and gentlemen we have our genre. I'll start work on it, but it'll probably turn out to be the 10K celebration piece as well, because hot _damn_ a lot of people are reading this story. Thank you all for the support, and I hope I continue to earn it.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


	23. Chapter 23, Merger

As the bell signalled the end of first period, JNPR let out a collective sigh. Though Nora tended to enjoy Professor Port's stories, and Jaune could just block them out, the entire team was exhausted.

Since their return from Vale that weekend, all they'd been able to think about was their trouncing at the hands of Roman Torchwick. The drive to become more powerful than he was had established itself, and had spurred them into almost non-stop training.

Their entire Sunday had been one massive training session, from morning until evening with only lunch as a break. They'd compounded matters by having a strategy meeting late into the night, the three combatants recalling as much of the crime lord's fighting style as they could.

Ren in turn suggested countermeasures to many of his more predictable moves, and provided an assessment of the White Fang operatives he'd seen in the warehouse district. They had talked until two in the morning before passing out, and the combination of physical and mental fatigue wore on the four warriors.

It showed, too. Or at least, Jaune assumed it must because RWBY were practically slinging his team mates over their shoulders for the walk to the dining hall. Ren, apathetic at the best of times, was currently doing quite a realistic impression of the sloths Nora liked so much. _How does he know where he's going if he doesn't open his eyes...?_

The blonde guessed it had something to do with Aura, though watching it was still strange. Nora had basically fallen asleep on Ruby, only moving forward because her shoulder-pillow was. Normally Jaune would smile at that image...but he couldn't look at Nora without feeling guilty.

Pyrrha was currently locked in whispered conversation with Yang, walking out in front of the others. They had been doing that a lot over the past week, with Jaune's partner attending 'study sessions' in RWBY's dorm almost every night. He had absolutely no idea what they were doing, and at this point he was getting nervous.

That left Blake and Weiss. The heiress was cordial with him, but didn't seem too interested in what he had to say. Her focus was on the Scroll in her hands, as it almost always was outside of mealtimes. _Seriously, what is she doing on that thing that requires such a time investment?_

The blonde could only wonder. Of course, he could only wonder about Blake as well – nose in a book as was her habit, her expression was one of acute concentration. The world outside her text may as well not exist...except for the oncoming students that she simply stepped around.

Everyone was occupied somehow, and Jaune was almost alone with his thoughts. They weren't happy – most of his waking hours for the past three days had been dedicated to planning anti-Roman strategies, but he still hadn't found one he could call foolproof.

The task vexed him, as he tried to level the playing field in his head. Roman was an adversary both skilled and deadly. He fought dirty, and didn't hesitate to escape if it suited him. If he was going to go down, he needed to be surrounded by a well-coordinated group whose combined firepower exceeded his own.

He also needed to be cut off from his reinforcements, so they either had to be distracted or he had to be unable to call them. That called for an opening strike with enough power to get his mind off calling for help, or to just take him out of the fight instantly.

But JNPR didn't have that kind of firepower, no matter how the blonde looked at it. Their combination attacks were coming along well, most of them flowing smoothly in practice. But each would be less effective after the initial reveal, and he wasn't sure that the amount of damage they'd inflict would be enough to deprive Roman of his aura.

If it wasn't, then JNPR would be facing Roman Torchwick without anything else up their sleeve. They'd also be weakened, since the combos were largely intended for use as finishers or as one-hit and so weren't very energy efficient.

That would be a terrible situation, and Jaune knew it. He also knew that there was an option staring him right in the face that he needed to acknowledge. _We don't have enough firepower. We need additions to our team who work well with us and with each other. We need to ally ourselves with RWBY._

The tactician groaned to himself, eyes momentarily sweeping over the members of the other team. _Yes, we need to get them on our side by next month...but it's not the same as telling Ren, Nora and Pyrrha._

When he'd revealed the truth to his team, the timing was almost perfect. All three of them had seen the truth of his... _condition_...first-hand during his breakdown. They had also assumed some kind of responsibility for it, meaning they were more open to what Jaune was saying out of sympathy and guilt. Since they had already been close friends, the bonds they had formed as a team had also helped get them through it. All in all, it couldn't have gone better.

But with RWBY, there would be none of those things. He'd be asking them to train with JNPR so they could defeat a notorious criminal...because Jaune had come from the future to warn them about the consequences of his actions. If they even entertained the idea, they would undoubtedly ask for proof.

What could he give them? He knew Blake was a Faunus, a one-time member of the White Fang. Dropping Adam's name would definitely show that he knew more about her than he should – but it would also most likely cause some major fallout in RWBY.

But Weiss had never shared some deep secret. Ruby had told him about her mother once, but at the same time that was something he could have found out. Yang was just like Weiss, in that he had nothing he could say to prove it.

He could tell them the exact where and when of a Dust heist...but he'd already interrupted one. If he kept interfering, it was likely that Roman would implement a new plan. That would basically wreck his own plan, and so it needed to be avoided at all costs.

In short, bringing RWBY into the fold was much harder than it sounded. The blonde sighed heavily as the eight entered the dining hall, collecting a meal on autopilot. There was as solution somewhere – there was a solution to everything. He just needed to find it...

He nodded to Russel as he passed, the fellow first year returning the gesture. RDL had finally settled into the situation of Jaune being friendly, and though they might not hang out they offered greetings.

Settling into his usual seat, the blonde poked at his meal with a kind of resigned apathy. _This plan is difficult enough to implement, but in order to do so I need an even more complex plan._ He stared at the ceiling for a minute as he collected his thoughts, returning to his meal once he could think straight.

More ideas whirled through his mind, though there was still nothing useful. Pyrrha appeared beside him, Nora and Ren making their way around the table to sit opposite them. The martial artist was almost asleep in his meal...but when he bothered to look at anything, his eyes went to his leader.

The constant machinations going on behind those blue eyes told him that he was still trying to hatch a plan for bringing RWBY around to their side. It was a tricky situation, and one that Ren didn't envy.

Still, he wondered if his leader might not be putting enough faith in the ties between their teams. Particularly regarding the sisterhood that had sprung up around Pyrrha. Still, he couldn't reveal that...after all, Jaune's face when they finally put their plans into motion ought to be priceless.

Jaune's mind was starting to spin in circles, his ideas all some variation on previous ones. He was in desperate need of some new stimulus... He looked down the table, to where RWBY were eating. How to go about this...

The blonde's hands went to his head, grabbing fistfulls of his own hair as he suppressed a scream. _This is too damn frustrating!_

* * *

The rest of the day blurred past as Jaune obsessed over the problem. So many ideas flowed through his mind that he felt like he might never have one again. But not one of them had more than a tiny chance of succeeding.

In the JNPR dorm, he let out a frustrated sigh and set down his pencil. His team mates were with him, RWBY having combat practice tonight. He turned away from his homework to face the room's three other occupants, drawing their attention.

"I just cannot come up with a way to convince RWBY to join us. I have disjointed ideas, but all of the ones that might be effective come with major drawbacks. If you guys have _anything_ , I'll be willing to listen to it." Ren shook his head almost immediately – he'd been worrying at the problem himself, but was nowhere close to solving it.

Nora and Pyrrha were looking at each other, and after a moment they moved off to the corner of the room. They whispered there for a minute, shooting occasional glances at their male team mates. Their confab lasted a couple of minutes, during which time the two young men just shot glances at each other.

The two girls returned to their seats, having reached some kind of agreement. "Well, Nora and I think that you should just ask them for their help with Roman." Jaune was the one who had asked for suggestions, so he just gestured for them to continue.

"Well, you don't have to tell them about your own circumstances. If you just present it as wanting to defeat such a wanted criminal, then I don't see why they would disagree." The blonde gave them a nod, and a shake of the hand.

"I had considered it. But there needs to be a motivation behind it; it isn't normal for a first-year student team to dedicate their spare time to the defeat of a criminal mastermind. At least, not without a damn good reason." The blonde remembered the mess Blake had become in the weeks following her encounter with Roman. He hadn't been privy to the conversations going on in RWBY at the time, but watching from the outside it had been pretty clear that she was fixated on Torchwick's capture.

His red-headed partner raised a finger. "Ah, but we do have a reason don't we?" Jaune knew that she was presenting her idea as one where his secret wasn't revealed, so he though about it. What had Torchwick done that would motivate them to chase him...oh.

"Oh, I get it. Last weekend's rumble. You're saying we should present revenge for that as our reason?" Pyrrha nodded, lowering her finger. The blonde considered the idea he'd been handed. Revenge was a motivator that RWBY could understand...and he had intended to repay Roman for his little tumble across that plaza.

"That's definitely a valid reason. Of course, it'll raise questions as to why we were in a position to fight him in the first place...but it's not the first time we've spent our weekend in Vale." The more he thought about it, the more Jaune was convinced that this was their best option.

"Okay...okay, I think we can roll with this. If they ask any more in-depth questions, follow my lead. I developed a real talent for bumbling through bad situations during my first year..." His voice slowed as he recalled the many times that he'd been saved by coincidence or intervention in the past.

Pyrrha moved forward to place a hand on his shoulder, just like she always did when he got these flashes of memory. They had quickly discovered that her presence was a more effective calming agent than anything else, and her touch could raise Jaune out of any dark thoughts.

The leader sighed as the let go of the thoughts, climbing to his feet and laying his own hand over his partner's. "I'm alright, Pyrrha. Thank you." Green eyes performed their own examination, but apparently concurred. With a small squeeze, she let go and took a couple of steps back.

"Okay team, we'll talk with RWBY about this tomorrow. In the meantime, everyone turn in early tonight. We need to make up for all that talking we did on Sunday." Ren shot his leader a grateful look as he pushed away from his desk, grabbing his jinbei and heading for the shower room.

Jaune followed when he'd retrieved his own sleeping fatigues, the girls heading off as well. They all emerged more or less at the same time, Jaune heading to the light switch while the others went straight to bed. The room was quickly plunged into darkness, and the blonde's feet traced the path to his bed.

He sank into the fabric with a long breath, and his tired mind was out in seconds.

* * *

The next morning saw a much more well-rested JNPR at breakfast, Nora's frenetic energy and appetite both restored in full. As the pancake apocalypse was going on across the table from him, Jaune considered when they should approach RWBY.

Looking to Ren, he posed times and places to him. It was fairly common practice for the martial artist to act as his leader's sounding board, since his wider general knowledge offset his leader's ability to produce and alter plans on the fly.

"Lunch time, here in the dining hall?" Ren considered it, his head moving to the left and right.

"It removes most of the tension that the conversation could generate by holding it in a sun-lit, public area. But it also puts us at risk of being overheard, which would be a massive blow to our efforts." Jaune nodded, mentally assigning it to the 'maybe' pile.

"Evening, in our dorm room?" Another moment's consideration.

"Very low risk of being overheard, which is good. But the setting will be less familiar to them, and that combined with the time of day will unsettle them somewhat. It'll reduce the odds of them listening to us." The blonde grunted, throwing that on the 'maybe' pile too.

All his suggestions involving classes had been immediately vetoed, the combined risk of being overheard or having RWBY react in a way which could draw attention putting such a setting out of the picture. Likewise his suggestions that they have the conversation in the morning, as they still weren't fully awake and would be thinking more of the day ahead. Not to mention the time restrictions.

"Then how about evening in _their_ dorm room?" A nod this time, the martial artist appreciating that his leader got the idea.

"That would be better. They'll be much more at ease on their home turf." Nodding in acceptance of this, Jaune settled on that one.

"Okay. We'll approach them tonight, in their dorm room. I'll tell them to expect us over dinner." Ren nodded, turning his attention back to the food in front of him. The blonde did the same, mentally rehearsing what he wanted to say.

* * *

That day's Grimm Studies lesson had been a story about the Professor's first time encountering a King Taijitu. Apparently, it had attempted to constrict itself around him. It had, though, been entirely unprepared for its prey to be just as fond of crushing things. The motions the Professor had made to indicate crushing the massive creature's body between his arms looked more like he desperately wanted a hug.

Oobleck had been...Oobleck. Today had been tracing the history of Beacon itself, from its initial foundation as a base of operations for professional Huntsmen to its gradual rise to the forefront of academic achievement. It had been several hundred years of history, and the entire subject had been compressed into the two-and-a-half hour lesson.

At least sparring had been entertaining. Jaune had been chosen as an opponent for Yang, which she had seemed really happy about. He wasn't sure what he'd done to piss her off, but with how hard she came down on him it must have been pretty damn big.

The fight had been three of the most intense minutes of his life, Ember Celica drumming a constant beat on his shield as he intercepted blow after blow. He'd got in a few good hits, including driving his shield into her face at a full-tilt run. Unfortunately, she had gone for her Semblance after that hit. The punch she had delivered was too much force for his weight to counteract, and had lifted him straight off his feet and backward across the arena.

That had been the end of the bout – but Yang's aura had been about halfway done, which Jaune counted as at least part of a victory. He wasn't adverse to Pyrrha's fussing either. She could be a bit too much of a mother hen sometimes, but he enjoyed it in moderation.

Still, that bout had kept him ticking over until dinner. Now, RWBY and JNPR sitting together as usual, and Jaune was framing his request for an audience. He felt like he pretty much knew what he wanted to say, so he got up and walked over to Ruby.

Settling into the seat next to her, he kept his expression pleasantly neutral. "Hey, Ruby? Mind if I ask you something?" RWBY's leader turned to look at him, swallowing one of the cookies she was so fond of.

"Sure, Jaune. What's up?" Jaune could see Yang out the corner of his eye, and the very serious look she was giving the male situated in close proximity to her sister. Doing his utmost not to appear panicky or, indeed, show anything other than a normal expression, he continued.

"I was wondering if my team might drop by your dorm later? There's this idea we had, we want to discuss it with you guys." The younger girl hummed to herself as she thought, Yang's eyes narrowing further at her fellow blonde. He managed to suppress his reflexive gulp.

"Sure, we don't have anything going on this evening. Just come over any time." Nodding his thanks, Jaune escaped the danger zone as quickly as casual walking speed could take him. Returning to his seat, he found Ren looking at him.

"It worked?" he asked simply, and the blonde gave him a nod. The martial artist mirrored the motion, returning to his food. Pyrrha and Nora both heard as well, Nora giving him a thumbs-up as his partner flashed one of her smiles.

* * *

When dinner was complete, Jaune led his team to stand outside RWBY's door. He turned to regard the three people with him, who all nodded in sync. They were ready.

Taking a deep breath, the blonde reached out and rapped on the door with his knuckles. The portal swung open a few seconds later, revealing Weiss. "Ruby told us you were going to be visiting. Come on inside."

Stepping backward out of the doorway, the heiress allowed JNPR access to the room. The rest of her team had taken seats on the...Jaune hesitated to call them bunk beds. He opened his mouth to speak, but felt his partner lay a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me, Jaune, it's...better not to ask."

Deciding to just accept that, the blonde stood facing the now four seated girls. "We dropped by tonight because we have something we need your help with." That garnered instant attention, as he had known it would. RWBY were very big on helping friends.

"There's this...mission, we've been trying to accomplish. Something we're trying to do. We have plans and information, but...we just don't have the firepower." Blake and Weiss were listening critically, the heiress raising one eyebrow.

"You don't have the firepower? You have _Pyrrha Nikos_ on your team, and you don't have the firepower?" Jaune nodded, choosing to ignore everything about what she'd said except for the questioning aspect.

"Yes. The target we're trying to deal with is beyond all four of us combined. Even in our best-case scenarios, we can't be sure that we'll succeed in defeating them." Weiss still looked skeptical, Blake inscrutable as always. Yang and Ruby, however, had a gleam in their eyes.

"Oooh, someone really strong? You want us to help you beat them?" The blonde nodded, the sisters starting to grin.

"Sounds like fun. So, who is this target?" The white-haired heiress shot a look over her shoulder.

"Ruby! You need to stop agreeing to things so easily, especially something that might turn out to be dangerous." The younger girl pouted at her partner.

"I haven't agreed to anything yet!" The heiress, apparently immune to the overdose of adorable Ruby was currently pointing in her direction, shook her head.

"Yes you have! I know that look, Ruby, that's your 'I wonder what it'll be like fighting that' look. You always make that face right before you launch yourself into some ridiculous situation!" The pout somehow managed to become...poutier, Jaune now averting his eyes lest his definition of adorable be forever ruined.

"Oh come on, Weiss! We haven't had a good fight as a team since that Nevermore in Initiation! Can't we please just hear who the target is?" The two girls stared at each other, glaring logic and pouting emotion doing battle in the air between them.

Finally, the pout won out. "Okay, fine. But I want to make it clear that just because we're listening doesn't mean we'll help." Jaune nodded thankfully to her, picking up more or less where he'd left off.

"The target is a local criminal called Roman Torchwick." RWBY blinked as one, recognition crossing their faces.

"Wait, tall guy with red hair? Wears a white suit and top hat?" Jaune nodded to Ruby, who had asked.

"Yeah, that's the guy." The smile on her face grew wider, and the young leader chuckled.

"Oh, I've wanted another go at him for ages. I never got to finish my fight with him...I'm voting we join up with JNPR." _No surprises there..._ Weiss' face seemed to echo the sentiment, as she buried her head in her hands.

"Why do I even bother..."

Yang put a hand on her sister's back, a massive grin adorning her own face. "I've heard about this guy. He's a real piece of work – being part of taking him down would be awesome."

Blake was the only person who hadn't said anything, and she quickly found the focus of the room on her. Amber eyes met blue, as she searched for whatever the blonde might feel. "Why are you guys after him?"

Jaune remembered the fight from several days prior. How he'd been so easily overpowered, used against his team mates. He remembered how Torchwick had been so willing to kill Nora. He remembered it all, and he gritted his teeth as he answered simply. "Payback."

Whatever showed on his face, it was apparently enough for the girl in black. "I can understand that. So long as there's a plan for this, I don't see any problem in helping apprehend a dangerous criminal."

Weiss looked around at her team, letting out a long sigh. "I suppose that, as a Schnee and as a Beacon student, it is my duty to ensure the safety of the public."

Four calls of assent. Jaune felt a smile growing on his face. _We have the firepower we need, and we have a month to prepare. You'd better watch yourself, Roman – because we're coming for you._

"Alright. According to an information broker, there's a big SDC Dust shipment coming into the Vale docks next month. Roman plans to hit it – that's where we'll get him."

Frowns and raised eyebrows appeared among RWBY at his proclamation. Ruby spoke first, now _sounding_ pouty. "We have to wait a month?" Yang's expression said basically the same thing – she'd been hoping for a fight _now_ dammit!

Weiss seemed...rather displeased. "That thieving scum...I have a personal stake in this now." There was a light in her eyes now, and while Jaune felt a little guilty at hiding the true source of his information, he felt that as much of this conversation had been truthful as it possibly could be.

Blake just kept her eyes on Jaune's, before moving over to Ren. "You got this from an information broker? Can you trust them?" The martial artist met her gaze straight on, nodding.

"Yes. Ozpin keeps various elements of the criminal element on the payroll – it's part of how he gathers information. I trust an information broker with heavy pockets." The secret faunus nodded, this obviously making perfect sense to her.

 _All of them are in, and they've accepted our reason for wanting Torchwick. We even managed to sell our source of information. Nora and Pyrrha deserve something special for this idea..._

"We're glad to have you on board. We've been training to deal with him in particular...can you join us for that?" He got various responses in the positive, and nodded.

"Then let's go."

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Hello! You may be wondering why this chapter was so delayed...well, actually, I imagine most of you have figured it out. I launched the story 'Gloria Dei est in Tenebris' not so long ago, and it was met with incredible support. Because of that, I've spent more time writing the chapters for that instead of this. Especially since I'm trying to keep the average length of those chapters above that of this story.**

 **So yeah, this story will probably end up being updated less often...not really what I expected to happen, but on the bright side it lets me get more planning done. I can't guarantee that Gloria will have the kind of update frequency I had going with this, but if you find that you just can't live without me, it should hopefully be enough sate your cravings.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!**


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